Third wave of coronavirus is inevitable, says critical care doctor
ONE of Wales’ top critical care doctors has warned that a third wave of coronavirus is “inevitable”.
Dr Richard Pugh, chairman of the Welsh Intensive Care Society, said the timing and peak of the wave would depend on how and when restrictions were eased.
He said critical care staff were still stretched and the last thing they wanted was another surge in demand. The next review of restrictions in Wales is due to be held next Friday.
The Welsh Government is taking a very “careful and cautious” approach to lifting restrictions.
Dr Pugh called for lockdown easing to be “staged” and “informed by the data”.
He told BBC Wales: “I think a third wave will inevitably come.
“As these measures get released it’s the timing and the peak of that wave that we’ve got some potential to influence.
“When you look at critical care, the average age of people that come to critical care as a result of Covid is late 50s and these are people who are not going to be seeing the benefits of the vaccination programme that soon, so I am concerned about the potential of a third wave.
“From a professional point of view, the longer the measures stay in place, the feeling is that’s going to reduce any further peak in demand.”
Last month Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford warned a third wave of coronavirus will hit and it is a “matter of when, not if”.
He refused to rule out the need for a fourth lockdown, telling LBC radio: “Our chief medical officer said to me that he believes a third wave of coronavirus is baked into what will happen during this year.
“And we’re not talking about if there will be a third wave, we’re talking about how we can act to make sure that that third wave doesn’t affect us in the way that the wave we’ve seen over this autumn and winter has done.
“There’s going to be a long goodbye to coronavirus. And it’s going to be with us for the rest of this calendar year, I believe.
“Hopefully, of course, in ways that still allow us to go about more of our lives as we would wish to.”