Category: UK News

British medical experts have called on the public to remain cautious despite the progress in vaccine rollout as Britain is still not out of woods in fighting coronavirus.

Their appeal came after Britain on Tuesday reached the grave milestone of 90,000 Covid-related deaths, Xinhua news agency reported.

Liverpool-based Public Health expert John Ashton, who last Spring predicted the virus would lead to at least 100,000 deaths across the country, said the latest figures did not surprise him.

Ashton told Xinhua: “Although the official figure has now exceeded 90,000, if you study the reports from the (British) Office for National Statistics (ONS), more than 100,000 people have already died with Covid-19 listed on their death certificates.”

Ashton said his work as an expert with the World Health Organization (WHO) on outbreaks of contagious diseases such as Swine Flu and Avian Flu helped him see the impact of allowing a virus to get out of control.

Ashton, who had a Covid-19 vaccine a few days ago, said Britain’s vaccination program could help ease the country back to some normality.

The total number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test has reached 91,470 in Britain after another 1,610 were confirmed on Tuesday, according to official figures. Tuesday’s daily death toll was the highest since the pandemic began in the country, the data showed.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the government’s plan to vaccinate all the four most vulnerable groups covering 15 million people by mid-February is on track.

People aged 70 and over and those listed as clinically extremely vulnerable in England have begun to receive the first dose of coronavirus vaccine from Monday.

Hancock confirmed that Britain is aiming to offer all adults the vaccine by September.

However, Ashton said Britain is not out of the woods despite the progress in the vaccine rollout.

“My worry is we are still not at the stage where we can relax what we have been doing. There are still a lot of people working in the NHS (National Health Service) who are off work with illnesses and more patients need urgent hospital care,” he said.

“Last year I would have said we should start seeing some shoots of normal life around March. Now I would say to people if they are planning to book a holiday overseas, don’t book anything before the fall. Perhaps it will be better to consider a holiday in this country,” he said. “We will be well into the summer months before we will start to see a more normal life, but we won’t be totally free until later in the year, around our autumn months.”

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The new, highly contagious Covid-19 variant is spreading fast – 50% to 70% faster than the variant in 2020 – leading to increased pressure on a strained NHS and more deaths. The R-number has risen to 1.3 in many parts of the country, compared to 0.9 at last year’s peak, placing the country into a health emergency.

Medics and the Police are calling on the public to not be complacent this weekend and to stop the spread by sticking to the rules which are ‘crucial’ if the country is to successfully ease pressure on the NHS and minimise the number of Covid-19 deaths. Any deviation of the rules could be fatal to others.

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With a third of people having no symptoms when carrying the virus, the message is clear from the frontline workers – we all must act like we have the virus and understand that bending the rules leads to the virus spreading, which puts a huge amount of pressure on an already stretched NHS. 

A new short infographic film has been developed with NERVTAG data to demonstrate how quickly the new Covid-19 variant spreads. The film demonstrates how in some parts of the country 1 in 30 people are infected with the virus, so bending the rules could be fatal.

The film is narrated by TV and NHS medic Dr Ranj Singh and will run across PR and social media in England from this weekend.

As a plea to the nation, Dr Ranj said: “Please don’t risk contracting or passing on the virus and stay home as much as possible. I know it is tough and we are bored with the guidelines, but on behalf of my colleagues in the NHS, please stay at home. I can see it in my hospital, staff are struggling to cope with the amount of care needed to be given to more and more patients suffering from this terribly debilitating virus.

“If you are going out to exercise, please do so as locally as possible, never exercise with more than one person from another household and always keep 2 metres distance. If you have to go to the shops, go alone, wear a face mask when indoors and washing your hands before and afterwards. We all need to be vigilant – meeting someone in your supermarket who’s pushed the same trolley or held the same basket could well have coronavirus.”

The message is clear: stay at home. However, if you do have to go outside you must:

• keep two metres away from everyone
• wear a face mask covering the nose and mouth when indoors
• keep washing your hands

If you have to go to the shops, go alone and limit the trips, someone in your supermarket who has pushed the same trolley or held the same basket is likely to have Covid-19.

If you have to exercise outdoors, exercise locally and never exercise with more than one person from another household and always keep some distance.

Whilst the vast majority of the public have supported this huge national effort and followed the rules, the actions of a few people who are ignoring or bending the rules is putting everyone at risk and placing further pressure on doctors, nurses and NHS staff across the country.

Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Martin Hewitt, said:  “We are at the most dangerous stage of this pandemic and each of us has a personal responsibility to do everything we can to stop the spread of Coronavirus.

“The easiest way to keep our family and friends safe is to stay at home. If you have to go out ask yourself if your journey is essential, and if it is, then think about the safest possible way to do that to minimise contact with others.

“Whilst the vast majority of us follow the rules and stay at home police officers will be visible in communities tackling those who are not playing their part. We will not hesitate to issue fines to those deliberately breaching the regulations with no regard for the safety of others.”

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The UK’s daily increase of coronavirus infections dropped to its lowest level since December 27, 2020, but the country recorded the third highest single-day fatalities due to the disease since the pandemic began, according to official figures.

In the last 24 hours, another 41,346 people in the country tested positive for Covid-19, down from 55,761 a day ago, increasing the overall infection tally to 3,367,053, Xinhua news agency reported.

At least 1,295 infected persons died within 28 days of a positive test, the third highest single-day death toll.

The total number of Covid-19 deaths in the UK now stands at 88,747, the data showed.

On January 13, the UK reported 1,564 deaths, the highest single-day spike since the onset og the pandemic.

The latest figures were revealed as doctors warned that coronavirus patients were now younger and sicker than in the first wave last year.

“It’s relentless, the admissions come fast,” John de Vos, the leading Covid-19 consultant at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, told Sky News on Saturday.

“They are sicker now, sicker than the first wave. Sicker and younger… We are seeing some tragic situations.

“We are seeing patients who had gatherings over Christmas and New Year, which were allowed, but we are now seeing the after-effects of that and it brings a lot of guilt and emotion with it,” he added.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country.

Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The UK’s coronavirus reproduction number, also known as the R number, is estimated at between 1.2 and 1.3, compared with last week’s one and 1.4, according to the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

If the R number is above one, it means the number of cases will increase exponentially.

According to SAGE, the R number varies in the country.

It has gone down slightly in London, the South East and South West, as well as the North East and Yorkshire, but it has risen slightly in the East of England, Midlands and North West.

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