WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T ACT?
THE new measures are aimed at delaying the peak of the crisis - ‘flattening the curve’ to spread out the number of patients who would overwhelm the NHS if they all contracted the virus at once. Presenting a graph that showed the predicted numbers of cases in the coming weeks – which Boris Johnson referred to as a ‘squashed sombrero’ – the Government’s top scientists said delaying the height of the outbreak to the summer months would also mean hospitals would not be simultaneously dealing with winter flu. They also hope heat and sunlight may weaken the virus, although this is yet to be proven.