Second wave virus is as deadly as the first, warns Chris Whitty
CORONAVIRUS is NOT getting weaker and could still lead to thousands more deaths over winter, the UK's top doctor has warned.
Professor Chris Whitty told Brits the country could face 200 deaths a day by November in a dire warning about the spread of the virus today.
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Prof Whitty, Chief Medical Officer, and Sir Patrick Vallance, Chief Scientific Adviser, addressed the nation in a live televised address to issue a Doomsday warning that the nation is in the grip of a second wave.
The UK's top doctor said: "We should see this as a six-month problem we have to deal with collectively.
"A lot of people have said maybe this is a milder virus than it was in April, I'm afraid although it would be great if that were true, this is not the case.
"At the moment because the cases started to rise most in the lowest age bands in adults, these are the group least likely to end up in hospital.
"But as you move up the ages the mortality rates move up to quite serious levels."
It is the first time the pair have appealed directly to the British public without a government minister alongside them.
Sir Patrick warned Britain could face 50,000 coronavirus cases a day by the middle of October without new lockdown measures.
He added: "; At the moment we think the epidemic is doubling roughly every seven days.
"If, and that's quite a big if, that continues unabated and this grows doubling every seven days... if that continued you would end up with something like 50,000 cases in the middle of October per day.
"50,000 cases per day would be expected to lead a month later, so the middle of November say, to 200-plus deaths per day.
"The challenge therefore is to make sure the doubling time does not stay at seven days."
He said "in every age group we've seen an increase", adding this is not due to more testing, because of an increase in test positivity and results of the ONS study, which says around 70,000 people in the UK have Covid-19.
Prof Whitty added coronavirus will be at least a 'six-month' problem over winter before 'medical science can ride to the rescue'.
He said: "The trend in the UK is heading in the wrong direction and we are at a critical point in the pandemic."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to make a separate televised address on potential further lockdown measures later this week.
The PM is facing a heated Cabinet row over a second lockdown, with several ministers warning such a measure could leave the economy in ruins.
Former party leader Iain Duncan Smith said: “We are just starting to see growth. To lock the economy down would be a disaster.”
One minister told The Sun’s Trevor Kavanagh it was decision time for Mr Johnson, who must decide whether to face down the boffins to save the economy.
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They said: “It’s getting close to being too late. It’s two minutes to midnight.”
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Another senior Tory told Trevor’s column in today’s Sun: “Scientists are running the Government.
"They are afraid people will blame them for their mistakes and threatening behind closed doors to go public if they are overruled.”
