VIRAL EXPERT
Who is Dr Susan Hopkins?
DR Susan Hopkins is a medical expert and is part of the Government's ongoing response to the coronavirus pandemic in England.
The infectious disease specialist has been part of the team advising as the coronavirus second wave grips the UK and large parts of Europe.
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Who is Dr Susan Hopkins?
Dr Susan Hopkins is a healthcare epidemiologist and consultant in infectious diseases and microbiology at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
According to her biography on the Imperial College Website, Dr Hopkins has co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.
She is also the Programme Director for the UCL MSc in Healthcare associated Infection Control.
What is her role in Government?
Dr Hopkins is the deputy director of the national infections service at Public Health England (PHE), the official authority that releases nationwide health figures and statistics.
She gave a Downing Street update at 11am on Wednesday, November 18, 2020, alongside professor Stephen Powis.
PHE compiles data on infections and it was revealed that Hull has the biggest case load in the country.
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What has she said during the Covid pandemic?
- Dr Hopkins said that England's tier system would need to be "strengthened".
- She said the Government needs to look at what "tiers there may be in the future" when the lockdown ends on December 2.
- She said Test and Trace is limited because “people don’t want to get a contact from an unknown number”.
During the Downing Street briefing on Wednesday, November 18, 2020, Dr Hopkins said that most Brits are working from home as per lockdown rules.
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At present (November 2020), 38 per cent of people are working from home, compared to 12 per cent in the previous year.
The PHE boss said there was an "excess mortality" in March and April, of which has been repeated in the run up to Christmas.
Asked if people could be allowed to mix over Christmas amid national lockdown restrictions, Sage adviser Hopkins said the board is "very keen to have a Christmas as close to normal as possible".
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