HEALTH EXPERTS in the UK have warned that the country must be prepared for a second wave of coronavirus.
There have been calls for an urgent review of the easing of lockdown measures following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement yesterday that the two-metre rule will be halved and that pubs, restaurants and hairdressers will be reopening on July 4.
Leading health experts are concerned that the UK isn't prepared for the "real risk" of a second wave of Covid-19, following what will be the most significant easing of lockdown restrictions since they were first imposed back in March.
In an open letter to the government, UK health leaders warn that while the future shape of the pandemic in the UK is hard to predict, “the available evidence indicates that local flare ups are increasingly likely and a second wave a real risk” https://t.co/zY48KQEyI5 @bmj_latest
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In an open letter to the leaders of all the UK political parties published in the British Medical Journal, the health leaders call for a "rapid and forward-looking assessment" of the state of national preparedness in the event of a renewed flare-up.
"While the future shape of the pandemic in the UK is hard to predict, the available evidence indicates that local flare ups are increasingly likely and a second wave a real risk,” they said.
"Many elements of the infrastructure needed to contain the virus are beginning to be put in place, but substantial challenges remain.
"The job now is not only to deal urgently with the wide-ranging impacts of the first phase of the pandemic, but to ensure that the country is adequately prepared to contain a second phase."
