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A UK infectious disease expert said on Sunday he “can’t be sure” the UK won’t need to lock down again before Christmas – saying it will be a “tough summer” grappling with new cases of COVID-19.
Neil Ferguson, a professor at Imperial College London, declined to rule out that the country does not need to reimpose the same COVID-19 restrictions that are expected to be lifted on Monday.
“It will be a difficult summer for many reasons… I think the number of cases is likely to decline at least by the end of September, even in the worst case,” Ferguson told the BBC’s “Andrew Marr Show”.
But Ferguson said it might be “necessary to slow the spread to some extent” if there are a high number of hospital admissions for COVID-19 patients.
“Obviously, if we find ourselves in a more, say, worst case scenario… at the high end of modeling and projecting two, three thousand hospital admissions per day, it may be necessary to slow down the process. spread to some extent, ”he said.
When asked if there could be another foreclosure before Christmas, Ferguson said it was a “harder” prediction to make.
“I hope not, but I can’t be sure,” Ferguson said on the show.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will lift nearly all of England’s COVID-19 restrictions on Monday, including the removal of mask warrants and the reopening of nightclubs.
The move comes as cases are on the rise with more than 54,000 new infections confirmed in the UK on Saturday – the highest since January.
Johnson faced backlash after initially choosing not to self-isolate after coming into contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Friday, who tested positive for COVID-19 the next day.
Johnson and Treasury Chief Rishi Sunak were alerted overnight by the UK telephone test and traceability app.
Johnson’s office said he and Sunak would take a daily coronavirus test as part of an alternative system being tested at some workplaces, but reversed the course less than three hours later.
The two will now self-isolate for 10 days, with Johnson refueling at Checkers, his country residence.
“Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have once again tried to correct the rules to take advantage of it. They only backtracked when they were discovered, ”Labor leader Keir Starmer said, the Mirror reported.
“They’re like failed bank robbers who only offered to return the money because they got caught.”
With post wires
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