Masks and social distancing “could last for years” | General news

People may need to wear face covers and social distancing for several years until we get back to normal, predicted a leading epidemiologist.

Mary Ramsay, head of immunization at Public Health England, said basic measures could be in place until other countries successfully roll out jabs.

She also said returning large spectator events required careful monitoring and clear instructions to stay safe.

The Defense Secretary did not rule out extending the ban on holidays abroad.

Ben Wallace told the BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show that booking a trip abroad now would be “premature” and “potentially risky.”

The UK set another record for the number of coronavirus vaccine doses given in a single day on Saturday, with 873,784 jabs.

Dr Ramsay said restrictions such as face coverage in crowded places and social distancing had become accepted by many and still allowed the economy to work.

She said that “people have gotten used to these lower level restrictions now, and people can live with them, and the economy can continue with these less severe restrictions in place.”

“So I think for a few years, at least until other parts of the world are as well vaccinated as we are, and the numbers have gone down everywhere, that’s when we might be able to. be very gradually returning to a more normal situation, ”she added.

Be careful, it was “very important that we did not relax too quickly,” said Dr Ramsay, any virus in circulation would inevitably attack those who are vulnerable.

“We have to look very carefully before any of these restrictions are lifted,” she said.

Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical adviser to the UK government, told MPs earlier this month that it was hoped that “simple interventions like hand washing, face masks if necessary, tests and traces and especially vaccines “would make it possible to control the virus beyond the summer.

Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, also said that face masks might be necessary in certain situations if the number of infections increases in winter, but that it is possible for people to behave naturally in a way that promotes the social distancing.

A group of government science advisers said last month that “maintaining a base of policies that reduce transmission” will be necessary for some time.

These experts said these could include continuous testing and tracing, self-isolation and public messages encouraging “voluntary actions to reduce risk.”