Return to ‘normal life’ may be six months away

♦ Social restrictions could be tightened further ♦ Ministers under pressure to increase level of testing

CIVIL liberties could be restricted until the autumn, a senior government adviser has warned, as she said a “normal way of living” may not return for more than six months.

Dr Jenny Harries, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said that even if the current lockdown shows positive results within weeks, it would be “quite dangerous” to lift the curbs too quickly because the coronavirus could come back.

While some easing of the restrictions might be possible, it would be “foolish” to expect the country to “suddenly revert” to pre-pandemic behaviour, she said, adding that it would be a “gradual” process instead.

Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, said the lockdown would remain in place for a “significant period” and would last longer if people did not obey the rules on social distancing.

Boris Johnson has also warned in a letter being sent to every household this week that social restrictions will go even further if necessary.

Last night, a slightly croaky Mr Johnson tweeted a video message thanking essential workers including NHS staff and pharmacists. He said: “One thing the crisis has already proved is that there is such a thing as society.”

Ministers are now under intense pressure to ramp up testing for the virus so that people who are healthy – or have already recovered from coronavirus – can return to work.

A total of 1,228 people have now died after catching the virus, with the number of positive tests standing at 19,522.

Ministers have also been told to expect the number of deaths to increase day by day for the next two weeks before the effects of social distancing might lead to them falling again.

In a further development yesterday, Dr Harries also conceded that there is a lag in reporting the death toll which means many more patients may have already died. King’s College Hospital

‘I think three weeks for review, two or three months to see whether we’ve really got it, but about three to six months, ideally’

Trust confirmed last night that while the Government’s official figures show 11 deaths at their three hospitals, they have actually recorded 31 patients as having died due to coronavirus.

An ear, nose and throat surgeon from Derby became the first front-line hospital worker to die from Covid-19. Amged El-hawrani, 55, worked at Queen’s Hospital in Burton, and died on Saturday.

The UK is one week into a threeweek lockdown. Mr Johnson will review the lockdown in two weeks’ time, but has not guaranteed it would end then. There has been speculation the virus might have peaked by Easter, but Dr Harries dashed hopes that normality might return soon after that.

In Downing Street yesterday, she said it would be “brilliant” if the current crackdown flattened the peak of the virus, but: “To make it clear to the public… we must not then suddenly revert to our normal way of living, that would be quite dangerous.

“If we stop then, all of our efforts will be wasted. And we could potentially see a second peak. So over time, probably over the next six months, we will have a three-week review, we will see where we’re going. We need to keep that lid on. And then gradually we will be able to hopefully adjust some of the social distancing measures and gradually get us all back to normal.

“So I think three weeks for review, two or three months to see whether we’ve really got it, but about three to six months, ideally.” It raises the possibility of millions of people having to cancel their holiday plans, even if they have booked stays in the UK.

Dr Harries said that the country would have to “keep doing what we’re all doing until we’re sure that we can gradually start lifting various interventions … until we gradually come back to a normal way of living”.

BORIS JOHNSON should be forced to remain in quarantine for 14 days, a Labour MP serving as a doctor on the front line has said, as she called on the Government to align its guidance with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Dr Rosena Allin-khan, who is working night shifts in a south London hospital, claimed the Prime Minister’s decision to remain housebound for just one week was a source of “real worry” for NHS staff attempting to save lives.

Mr Johnson and Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, are both following the UK official advice and are self-isolating for a period of seven days after testing positive for Covid-19 on Friday,

But yesterday, the Tooting MP, who is running to become Labour’s deputy leader, argued that they could still pose a health risk if they returned to work after their symptoms had subsided.

“Some people have had the disease process that last 12-14 days,” she told Sky News.

“So for senior politicians such as the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary to suggest that they will return to work after seven days is a real worry for people working in the health sector like myself, because we need to save lives and we need people to properly observe self-isolation processes.

“Personally, I believe that the Government needs to change their advice to be in keeping with what we are seeing around the rest of the world and what is in keeping with what the World Health Organisation has said. They have said that long after symptoms resolve, one can still be infectious.”

Hitting back last night, a Whitehall source said that Mr Johnson and Mr Hancock were following the clinical advice of the UK’S top medical experts.

“There’s a 14-day incubation period but because the virus is infectious for seven you just need to stay home for that length of time,” they added.

It comes after ministers previously faced criticism over the scale of testing being carried out compared with other countries, with the WHO encouraging mass testing as the most effective response to the pandemic.

Expressing her disappointment that NHS staff were still not being routinely tested, Dr Allin-khan also questioned why Mr Johnson and Mr Hancock had been diagnosed despite only displaying mild symptoms.

“I’m not sure it’s entirely fair that senior politicians are having access to testing when front-line NHS staff who are going in to work night shifts, day shifts, double shifts at the moment, can’t get the tests that they need,” she said.

Separately, Tony Blair claimed that mass testing may offer the only way out of the UK lockdown, adding that the Government would need to test “virtually everybody”.