Social distancing needed in UK until at least end of 2020, says medical chief
Social distancing in UK will be needed until at least the end of the year, to prevent another Coronavirus wave, the country’s medical chief, professor Chris Whitty said on Wednesday.
“If people are hoping it’s suddenly going to move from where we are in lockdown to where suddenly into everything is gone, that is a wholly unrealistic expectation,” he added.
Whitty warned that the chances of having an “effective” vaccine or drug treatment for Covid-19 in the next calendar year are “incredibly small,” adding that the country will need to “rely on other social measures, which of course are very socially disruptive as everyone is finding at the moment.”
UK is at the peak of the outbreak, according to the British government’s chief medical adviser and the country’s Health Secretary. As of publication, UK has recorded more than 138,000 confirmed Coronavirus cases and around 19,000 deaths.
On Thursday, trials for a Covid-19 vaccine began at Oxford University, after the latter received £20 million in government funding.