Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
RAY OF HOPE FOR XMAS
» Infection rate to drop by December » GPS are put on standby for vaccine
CHRIS Whitty has suggested lockdowns could be over before Christmas…as a vaccine may be on its way.
The chief medical officer said he was confident the Covid R rate should fall below one in weeks.
He added: “That’s what I anticipate.” GPS are on standby to roll out a vaccine next month.
THE chief medical officer yesterday put his faith in the public to stick to the rules during the latest lockdowns in a bid to lift it before Christmas.
Professor Chris Whitty told MPS the crucial R transmission number should drop below one by December 2, which will turn the coronavirus tide.
And in another development that boosted hopes, it emerged GPS are being put on standby for a potential Covid-19 vaccine rollout from next month.
Prof Whitty appeared before the Science and Technology Committee,where he was asked whether the lockdown which begins tomorrow could be eased by its review date of December 2.
He said: “The aim of the whole thing is that R is not greater than one.
“I do think it is sensible to see how we go on this but I have quite a lot of faith in the adherence of the general public that would lead to the R reducing.
“That’s what I anticipate and that’s what all the data shows.
“People intend to do this and I am expecting that the R will drop.”
The medical chief insisted the final decision on whether to ease the restrictions lies with Boris Johnson, who is already under pressure from antilockdown Tory MPS. He also said the three-tiered system of local restrictions – which he previously warned may not be enough to stop the spread of the virus – may have to be changed if lockdown is lifted.
Prof Whitty added: “I think the Prime Minister would probably want us to look at whether there should be variations.”
And he suggested rising cases among the over-60s was the reason for the nationwide lockdown, despite early evidence that overall rates in some Tier 3 areas were falling. Talking about dropping numbers in Liverpool, Prof Whitty said: “The rates are still steadily tracking up in all the data that I have seen in the older age groups who are the ones who are likely to translate into hospitalisations, ICU cases and deaths.” He and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance had been summoned before MPS after the pair had unveiled a “reasonable worst case scenario” at Saturday’s No10 briefing that 4,000 deaths a day could occur by December 20 if no action was taken. Asked whether he was “frightening” the public, Sir Patrick replied: “I hope not and that’s certainly not the aim.” The Government had publishing an R rate of between 1.1 and 1.3 the day before the briefing. But Professor Tim Spector, who leads the King’s College London Covid Symptom Tracker app, claimed R was falling and may now be around one. Wales is due to leave a lockdown next week while Scotland is under pressure to impose one after its new five-tier regional system came into force on Mond ay. C a mbr i d ge Un iv e r sity yesterday estimated there are now 77,000 new daily infections in England and calculated the outbreak is doubling every 15 days.
And new Office for National Statistics data showed weekly deaths involving coronavirus are at their highest since early June. A total of 978 fatalities registered in England and Wales in the week ending October 23 mentioned Covid-19 on death certificates. GPS are to be told to be prepared to start vaccinating over-85s and frontline workers from next month, magazine Pulse reported.