Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty warns people to act with caution when restrictions end in England, as the rate of Covid hospitalisations could rise. He says the UK is “not out of the woods yet”.
Prof Whitty says that hospital admissions for Covid are doubling every three weeks and could reach “scary numbers”. The pandemic still has a “long way to run in the UK”, he adds.
However, others argue that even though cases will increase, there are “consequences for not opening up”. Although if an unacceptable situation arises, the government will need to look at putting restrictions back in place.
On Thursday, the UK recorded their highest daily number of new cases since January, with nearly 50,000 infections.
Prof Whitty believes the situation could become very dangerous for individual hospitals. We should not underestimate how quickly the country could get into trouble again. Hospital numbers may be low at the moment, but tat doesn’t mean they will remain at that level in six or eight week’s time. There is potential for things to get “really quite serious”. The number of people in hospital is increasing, and it will not take much for the current 2,000 to double and hit those high numbers.
However, the nation is in a much better shape now due largely to the vaccine programme. But there is still a long way for the UK to go, and even further for the rest of the globe.
Freedom Day
From 19 July, nearly all legal Covid restrictions will end in England, but some guidance will remain, resulting in a confusing message. Additionally, each devolved nation of the UK will have their own different rules.
In England, nightclubs will reopen, venues and events will not have any limits on capacity, and social distancing will end. The legal requirement to wear a face covering will no longer apply, but the government say they are still “expected and recommended” in crowded indoor areas. It is up to businesses to instil their own regulations, and the responsibility of the individual.
It is vital that people in England “take things incredibly slowly” from 19 July, and Prof Whitty expects the majority will still take precautions. People have done an amazing job so far of trying to protect those around them who are at high risks. He believes some people will still continue to change their behaviours by wearing masks and reducing contact.
Prof Whitty predicts coronavirus could mutate into a variant that resists our current vaccines, sending the UK “some of the way backwards” to when the pandemic was at its worst. Despite developments in medicine and science “you can never take that possibility completely off the table”.
The important thing now is to get the balance right between controlling the virus and getting life back to normal. The necessary clinical measures will continue to be taken while we reopen society. But we have to allow people to return to their daily lives.
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