By Tony Winterburn • Published: 09 Aug 2020 • 10:55
Former Chief Scientist to the government Sir David King warns the UK could soon go back into lockdown. image: Twitter
Scientist Sir David King is sure that as schools reopen virus cases will rocket- unless firm action is taken.
The UK could be heading for full lockdown again by the end of the month and the PM must act NOW to prevent it, according to a former government chief scientific adviser Sir David King. Sir David also said that Boris Johnson needs to fix the ‘disastrous’ test and trace system, designed to allow data to be collected and then summarised for the government to make calculated decisions on which area or areas of the country should be locked down to prevent further outbreaks.
Sir David, who has set up a scientific body called Independent Sage to shadow the UK government’s advisory group, warns that the UK is nowhere near being able to reopen schools safely. He said: “The Government has a month to deal with the level of infectivity as it stands now. Reopening schools should be a priority, but we believe we are nowhere near the point where it can be done safely.
The R rate of infection number is expected to rise by about 0.5 when all schools open. Sir David urged the PM to let councils run test and trace as he hit out at the current system, run by private firm Serco.
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