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Concerns about a ‘third wave’ of Covid-19 could hit the UK in a matter of weeks after the increase in cases in Europe surges.
A government adviser, who is part of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), is reported to have said that the UK is typically a few weeks behind Europe in terms of infection levels.
And Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford said a third wave was highly likely to be on its way to the UK, and that it was not a question of “if it will happen, but how it will happen”.
He added: “As we have seen in Paris in recent days, France was doing incredibly well just a few weeks ago and is now experiencing a sudden and significant outbreak.”
In the UK, the percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 has decreased in the West Midlands, eastern England, the South West and London over the past week, according to the Office for National Statistics.
But the trend in other regions is uncertain. The ONS has highlighted the East Midlands, where there could be early signs of an increase in infections.
In Birmingham, the rate stood at 75 cases per 100,000 residents in the seven days to March 15, down from 86.4 the previous week. That was 856 new cases, compared to 987 the week before.
Vaccines in the UK have surpassed 26 million for those receiving their first dose, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson received his vaccine on Friday.
But the R number, the virus’s reproductive rate, has risen slightly in the UK to between 0.6 and 0.9.
Paris has been subjected to a month-long lockdown after 35,000 new cases were recorded there in 24 hours.
Prime Minister Jean Castex said a “third wave” of infections in the country seemed increasingly likely.
Germany’s public health chief went further, announcing on Friday that the country is now in “the beginning of a third wave.”
Many of Italy’s regions have also reverted to the stricter form of closure with schools closed.
Oxford University Professor James Naismith, speaking on ITV News, said: “The concern is that if we relax our guard, if we are not careful, it will start to rise again.
“The vaccination program is saving lives and preventing deaths, but it is still not making a difference in the spread of the virus in young people and of course if it really spreads quickly in young people that will have real problems for the country.”
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