The UK could see 49,000 daily new cases by mid-October if coronavirus infections continue to double every seven days, Sir Patrick Vallance has warned.
At a Downing Street briefing, the chief scientific adviser shared a graph that shows how infections could surge quickly unless action is taken to slow the pandemic’s spread.
Should new cases reach this level, Sir Patrick warned that this would lead to “200-plus deaths a day” by mid-November.
He was joined by Professor Chris Whitty for the briefing, which aimed to set out potential scenarios as cases in the UK continue to rise.
At present, the number of coronavirus cases are doubling every seven to eight days.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering tightening measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus amid a rise in the number of cases.
London cases:
Sir Patrick says about three million people – or 8% – in the UK have antibodies, meaning the vast majority of us are not protected and are susceptible to the disease.
If someone has antibodies present it suggests they have already had the virus.
The number of people with antibodies is a little higher in the cities – perhaps as high as 17% in London, he adds.
Meanwhile, London mayor Sadiq Khan is to meet with council leaders today to discuss stricter lockdown measures for the capital, after the rate of cases in London rose in a seven-day period ending early last week, from 18.8 per 100,000 people to around 25.
A spokesperson for Mr Khan said on Sunday that as the “situation is clearly worsening”, the mayor will be seeking “fast action” on imposing more restrictions.
