The UK can avoid a second coronavirus peak if the correct measures are put in place, the government’s chief scientific officer has said.
Sir Patrick Vallance told MPs that a combination of the ‘right’ level of social distancing and tracing the contacts of those infected with the disease should help the country swerve a second outbreak.
But he warned it would be “extremely difficult” this winter, when other illnesses such as flu start to circulate again.
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Ministers say an army of 18,000 trained staff will be used to alert those who have come into contact with an infected patient.
A new NHS app designed to help trace all those potentially affected has been launched in the Isle of Wight.
Sir Patrick warned MPs on the Commons Health and Social Care Committee that the risk of a second peak was ‘real’.
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1/50 5 May 2020The sun appears to explode over the horizon in this montage of images captured by photographer Nick Lucas near his home in Ringwood, Hampshire. Nick took a number of pictures just a few seconds apart on a tripod mounted camera which were then combined to give the eye catching dawn image
Nick Lucas/SWNS
2/50 4 May 2020Leeds Green Watch firefighters observe a minute’s silence outside the fire station in Kirkstall Rd, in memory their colleagues that lost their lives in the line of duty
PA
3/50 3 May 2020Staff at The Berkeley hotel give food to ambulance workers
Reuters
4/50 2 May 2020One of a small group of anti-lockdown protesters speaks to a police officer as they gather outside New Scotland Yard in Victoria, London
AFP via Getty
5/50 1 May 2020Bonnie the Llama grazes in a field in the Scottish Borders alongside a sign supporting the NHS as the UK continues in lockdown
PA
6/50 30 April 2020Colonel Tom Moore and his daughter Hannah celebrate his 100th birthday, with an RAF flypast provided by a Spitfire and a Hurricane over his home in Marston Moretaine. Colonel Moore, formerly a Captain, received a promotion in honour of his birthday and in recognition of the funds, in excess of £30m, he raised for the NHS by walking laps of his garden
Capture the Light Photography/Getty
7/50 29 April 2020Britain’s Labour leader Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions, as members of Parliament observe social distancing due to the coronavirus, in the House of Commons, London, Wednesday, April 29, 2020
UK Parliament/AP
8/50 28 April 2020NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
9/50 27 April 2020The sun rises behind redundant oil platforms moored in the Firth of Forth near Kirkcaldy, Fife. Global oil prices have crashed after the coronavirus pandemic reduced demand, with analysts warning that the oil majors may be looking at one of their biggest quarter-on-quarter profitability hits in history.
PA
10/50 26 April 2020Frankie Lynch celebrates on the Mall where the finish of the London Marathon was due to take place today after running 2.6 miles instead of 26 miles to raise money for The Running Charity
Reuters
11/50 25 April 2020A muslim woman walks past balloons outside the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London
Reuters
12/50 24 April 2020An empty Brighton Pier, closed during the Coronavirus pandemic as temperatures reach 20 degrees in the South East
Rex
13/50 23 April 2020Farmers work with vehicles to prepare a field next to a field of flowering rapeseed near Pontefract, West Yorkshire
AFP/Getty
14/50 22 April 2020The Northern Lights, the Milky Way and a Lyrid meteor at the Bathing House near Howick, Northumberland, as the Lyrid meteor shower reached its peak
PA
15/50 21 April 2020Badger the Border Collie surrounded by bluebells at Shrawley Wood in Worcestershire
PA
16/50 20 April 2020A dog walker on Blyth beach in Northumberland
PA
17/50 19 April 2020A piece of coronavirus themed street art grafitti in East London
AFP via Getty
18/50 18 April 2020Members of the City Specialist Cleaning team spray disinfectant around posts in the town centre of Eastleigh, Hampshire
PA
19/50 17 April 2020A taped-up bench in the hamlet of Diglea, Greater Manchester
AFP/Getty
20/50 16 April 2020A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past graffiti in Bow, London
Reuters
21/50 15 April 2020A burned down mobile phone mast in London. According to reports, at least 20 mobile phone masts across Britain are believed to have been vandalised and government and telecom sources are increasingly concerned about the impact of conspiracy theories linking coronavirus to 5G networks
EPA
22/50 14 April 2020The new Nightingale Hospital in Washington, Tyne and Wear, being fitted out
PA
23/50 13 April 2020Walkers enjoy the bluebells in Wanstead Park in London
PA
24/50 12 April 2020A woman prays at the closed doors of Westminster Cathedral ahead of the Easter morning mass in London
PA
25/50 11 April 2020A man jogs on an empty beach in Scarborough as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
26/50 10 April 2020Military personnel testing people at a coronavirus test centre in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures
Reuters
27/50 9 April 2020Posters drawn by children displayed in support of the NHS in a building near St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Getty
28/50 8 April 2020A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
29/50 7 April 2020A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
30/50 6 April 2020A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
31/50 5 April 2020A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
32/50 4 March 2020New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
33/50 3 April 2020Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
34/50 2 April 2020A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
35/50 1 April 2020Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
36/50 31 March 2020Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
37/50 30 March 2020Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
38/50 29 March 2020Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
39/50 28 March 2020Derbyshire Police dye the “blue lagoon” in Harpur Hill, Buxton black, as gatherings there are “dangerous” and are “in contravention of the current instruction of the UK Government”
PA
40/50 27 March 2020A road sign advising drivers to ‘stay home protect NHS saves lives’ is visible on the M80 near Banknock as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
41/50 26 March 2020A postman wears a mask and gloves to deliver letters in Broadstairs, Kent, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday March 26, 2020. The UK’s coronavirus death toll reached 463 on Wednesday.
PA
42/50 25 March 2020Members of the public out exercising on Brighton beach at sunset
Getty
43/50 24 March 2020Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital
Getty
44/50 23 March 2020Commuters travel on the London underground during the Coronavirus pandemic
Getty
45/50 22 March 2020People walk on the seafront after recent incidents of members of the public ignoring government advice on social distancing on in Hove
Getty
46/50 21 March 2020A general view of an empty Trafalgar Square in London. There have as of now been 3,983 diagnosed coronavirus cases in the UK and 177 deaths
Getty
47/50 20 March 2020Swans swim on the banks of the River Severn in Worcester
PA
48/50 19 March 2020A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow’s street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss
PA
49/50 18 March 2020Students tend to Spring Lambs at Moreton Morrell College in Warwickshire
PA
50/50 17 March 2020Caerphilly Castle in South Wales joins Tourism Ireland’s Global Greenings campaign to mark St Patrick’s Day
PA
1/50 5 May 2020The sun appears to explode over the horizon in this montage of images captured by photographer Nick Lucas near his home in Ringwood, Hampshire. Nick took a number of pictures just a few seconds apart on a tripod mounted camera which were then combined to give the eye catching dawn image
Nick Lucas/SWNS
2/50 4 May 2020Leeds Green Watch firefighters observe a minute’s silence outside the fire station in Kirkstall Rd, in memory their colleagues that lost their lives in the line of duty
PA
3/50 3 May 2020Staff at The Berkeley hotel give food to ambulance workers
Reuters
4/50 2 May 2020One of a small group of anti-lockdown protesters speaks to a police officer as they gather outside New Scotland Yard in Victoria, London
AFP via Getty
5/50 1 May 2020Bonnie the Llama grazes in a field in the Scottish Borders alongside a sign supporting the NHS as the UK continues in lockdown
PA
6/50 30 April 2020Colonel Tom Moore and his daughter Hannah celebrate his 100th birthday, with an RAF flypast provided by a Spitfire and a Hurricane over his home in Marston Moretaine. Colonel Moore, formerly a Captain, received a promotion in honour of his birthday and in recognition of the funds, in excess of £30m, he raised for the NHS by walking laps of his garden
Capture the Light Photography/Getty
7/50 29 April 2020Britain’s Labour leader Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions, as members of Parliament observe social distancing due to the coronavirus, in the House of Commons, London, Wednesday, April 29, 2020
UK Parliament/AP
8/50 28 April 2020NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
9/50 27 April 2020The sun rises behind redundant oil platforms moored in the Firth of Forth near Kirkcaldy, Fife. Global oil prices have crashed after the coronavirus pandemic reduced demand, with analysts warning that the oil majors may be looking at one of their biggest quarter-on-quarter profitability hits in history.
PA
10/50 26 April 2020Frankie Lynch celebrates on the Mall where the finish of the London Marathon was due to take place today after running 2.6 miles instead of 26 miles to raise money for The Running Charity
Reuters
11/50 25 April 2020A muslim woman walks past balloons outside the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London
Reuters
12/50 24 April 2020An empty Brighton Pier, closed during the Coronavirus pandemic as temperatures reach 20 degrees in the South East
Rex
13/50 23 April 2020Farmers work with vehicles to prepare a field next to a field of flowering rapeseed near Pontefract, West Yorkshire
AFP/Getty
14/50 22 April 2020The Northern Lights, the Milky Way and a Lyrid meteor at the Bathing House near Howick, Northumberland, as the Lyrid meteor shower reached its peak
PA
15/50 21 April 2020Badger the Border Collie surrounded by bluebells at Shrawley Wood in Worcestershire
PA
16/50 20 April 2020A dog walker on Blyth beach in Northumberland
PA
17/50 19 April 2020A piece of coronavirus themed street art grafitti in East London
AFP via Getty
18/50 18 April 2020Members of the City Specialist Cleaning team spray disinfectant around posts in the town centre of Eastleigh, Hampshire
PA
19/50 17 April 2020A taped-up bench in the hamlet of Diglea, Greater Manchester
AFP/Getty
20/50 16 April 2020A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past graffiti in Bow, London
Reuters
21/50 15 April 2020A burned down mobile phone mast in London. According to reports, at least 20 mobile phone masts across Britain are believed to have been vandalised and government and telecom sources are increasingly concerned about the impact of conspiracy theories linking coronavirus to 5G networks
EPA
22/50 14 April 2020The new Nightingale Hospital in Washington, Tyne and Wear, being fitted out
PA
23/50 13 April 2020Walkers enjoy the bluebells in Wanstead Park in London
PA
24/50 12 April 2020A woman prays at the closed doors of Westminster Cathedral ahead of the Easter morning mass in London
PA
25/50 11 April 2020A man jogs on an empty beach in Scarborough as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
26/50 10 April 2020Military personnel testing people at a coronavirus test centre in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures
Reuters
27/50 9 April 2020Posters drawn by children displayed in support of the NHS in a building near St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Getty
28/50 8 April 2020A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
29/50 7 April 2020A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
30/50 6 April 2020A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
31/50 5 April 2020A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
32/50 4 March 2020New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
33/50 3 April 2020Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
34/50 2 April 2020A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
35/50 1 April 2020Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
36/50 31 March 2020Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
37/50 30 March 2020Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
38/50 29 March 2020Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
39/50 28 March 2020Derbyshire Police dye the “blue lagoon” in Harpur Hill, Buxton black, as gatherings there are “dangerous” and are “in contravention of the current instruction of the UK Government”
PA
40/50 27 March 2020A road sign advising drivers to ‘stay home protect NHS saves lives’ is visible on the M80 near Banknock as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
41/50 26 March 2020A postman wears a mask and gloves to deliver letters in Broadstairs, Kent, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday March 26, 2020. The UK’s coronavirus death toll reached 463 on Wednesday.
PA
42/50 25 March 2020Members of the public out exercising on Brighton beach at sunset
Getty
43/50 24 March 2020Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital
Getty
44/50 23 March 2020Commuters travel on the London underground during the Coronavirus pandemic
Getty
45/50 22 March 2020People walk on the seafront after recent incidents of members of the public ignoring government advice on social distancing on in Hove
Getty
46/50 21 March 2020A general view of an empty Trafalgar Square in London. There have as of now been 3,983 diagnosed coronavirus cases in the UK and 177 deaths
Getty
47/50 20 March 2020Swans swim on the banks of the River Severn in Worcester
PA
48/50 19 March 2020A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow’s street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss
PA
49/50 18 March 2020Students tend to Spring Lambs at Moreton Morrell College in Warwickshire
PA
50/50 17 March 2020Caerphilly Castle in South Wales joins Tourism Ireland’s Global Greenings campaign to mark St Patrick’s Day
PA
“I can tell you that a second peak is something that is very real, that you need to watch out for, and you can see it in other countries,” he said.
He added: “I think if we do test, track and tracing well, and we keep the social distancing measures at the right level, we should be able to avoid a second wave.”
But he said: “I want to add one caveat, which is winter. It is going to be extremely difficult when you also have flu circulating and you have all the other respiratory infections.”
Earlier he told MPs that once the current outbreak is under control he would expect contact tracing to do more of the “heavy lifting” than social distancing measures.
Boris Johnson is expected to announce on Thursday that the UK’s current lockdown will be extended.
Just days later, on Sunday, the prime minister is expected to set out a potential roadmap that could see some restrictions lifted, however.
Ministers want to keep the R level of the disease below 1, meaning the number of cases is falling.
Government advisers estimate the current R rate is between 0.6 and 0.9.
Easing lockdown restrictions risk the rate shooting up again, however.
Asked by MPs on the committee if, with hindsight, there was anything he would have changed about the government’s approach to fighting coronavirus, Sir Patrick said: “I think that probably… in the early phases… if we’d managed to ramp testing capacity quicker it would have been beneficial.”
Ministers announced last week that a target of 100,000 tests a day had been met.
The government faced accusations it had fiddled the figures, however, after it emerged some home testing kits were being counted on the day they were sent out, not when they were returned.
During his evidence, Sir Patrick also dashed hopes large numbers of people in the UK will have had the disease and therefore, potentially, have some immunity against it.
He estimated that fewer than one in six people have any sort of antibody protection against Covid-1, as he acknowledged experts are looking at whether rural areas and cities should face different restrictions as the lockdown is eased.
Sir Patrick said from the start of the month suggested around 10 per cent of Londoners could have antibodies, a number that fell to around 3 or 4 per cent in other areas.
He would “not expect to see antibody levels much above mid-teens” in any region of the UK at the moment, he said.
Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk