LONDON: Britain’s top medical consultant says the country has, in a “very bad sense,” turned a corner on COVID-19 infection rates, with figures suggesting there will be an exponential growth in the illness unless action is taken.
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty told the public on Monday that rates are going in the “wrong instructions” amidst expectations the federal government is preparing to reveal brand-new steps to manage the pandemic.
” We have in an extremely bad sense, actually turned a corner,” after weeks of increasing infection rates.
Whitty said that if nothing is done, new infections will increase to 49,000 a day by mid-October. Hospitalizations are likewise doubling in 7 to eight days– resulting in more deaths.
There was also no indication that the infection had actually reduced in intensity, he said. “We see no evidence that this holds true.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson huddled with ministers over the weekend to go over how the federal government will react to the recent increase in cases, which has actually pushed infection rates to levels last seen in May. Later this week the federal government is anticipated to announce a slate of short-term restrictions that will serve as a “breaker” to slow the spread of the disease.
The federal government is wishing to keep that number from climbing up back to the peak levels of early April, when more than 5,000 cases a day were being reported.
While death rates have actually stayed relatively low so far, public health authorities caution that deaths are likely to increase in coming weeks.
The UK reported a seven-day average of 21 deaths a day last week, compared with a peak of 942 on April 10.
The government last week enforced tighter limitations on communities in northeastern England, where the infection rate first began to rise. Bars and restaurants in those locations should now close between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. and people are prohibited from fraternizing people from other households.
The rise in infection rates comes as lawmakers across the political spectrum criticize the federal government’s testing program. While government ministers tout the record varieties of tests being carried out, there are prevalent reports of individuals having to take a trip hundreds of miles for tests and tests being voided because it is taking laboratories too long to process them.
An effective screening program is seen as essential to controlling the pandemic since it enables the federal government to track infections and notify people when they need to self-isolate.
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