"THREAT TO THE WORLD"
Hours ahead of England's Freedom Day, Imperial College London epidemiologist Neil Ferguson warned that the current wave of coronavirus infections in Britain could see up to 200,000 new cases a day. He told the BBC that it was "almost inevitable" that daily infection rates would hit a record 100,000 within a week after the lifting of restrictions.
The UK government's decision to lift virtually all of England's pandemic restrictions was also criticised by international experts as "a threat to the world."
More than 1,200 scientists have backed a letter in the journal The Lancet last week, saying that the UK's plan to lift most coronavirus restrictions in England is an "unethical experiment," which poses a serious threat to the rest of the world.
The letter argued that lifting restrictions at a time when infection rates are rising could increase the chance of new vaccine-resistant coronavirus variants emerging.
"Because of our position as a global travel hub, any variant that becomes dominant in the UK will likely spread to the rest of the globe," Christina Pagel at University College London said during an emergency summit of scientists and doctors on July 16.
Government advisers in New Zealand, Israel and Italy were among those who sounded alarm bells about the policy. Professor Jose Martin-Moreno of the University of Valencia, a senior adviser to the World Health Organization, said at the emergency summit: "We cannot understand why this is happening in spite of the scientific knowledge that you have."
Others warned the UK's approach would be imitated, for political expediency, by authorities elsewhere.
According to the latest data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, new virus cases are rising in 20 European countries, including Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Greece, with Delta spreading throughout the region. However, several European countries also plan on relaxing restrictions and opening borders in anticipation of increased tourism, summer vacations and related events.
"COVID is still troubling and dangerous," the WHO warned in a recent analysis of the global situation.
For Winchester, the threat of new variants will "always be there," even with restrictions. What is key, he believes, is that the country continues with its strong vaccination program and testing structure.
