Former Chief Scientific Adviser Warns ‘we need to be in lockdown now’ 

Former chief scientific adviser, Sir David King has warned there is “only one course of action” to deal with the new strain of coronavirus. “I think there’s no doubt about it – we need to go into lockdown and we need to go into lockdown sooner than the government is tending to do,” he said.  Sir David said it is important to act quickly to stop a surge in infections, and he believes “almost certainly” the new variant is spreading across the country already.

Sir David King claimed we are “nowhere near” the safe reopening of schools – and that Prime Minister Boris Johnson must now act immediately to prevent national restrictions being put in place, the Mirror reports. He said: “We need a proper test and trace system by September. Otherwise, full school opening will put us right back.”

He also urged Boris Johnson to “get it right” this month – or face a second wave of coronavirus infections, as he criticised the government’s “disastrous” Test and Trace policy. As head of the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, it is shadowing the Prime Minister’s scientific team.