"Britain faces the risk of a deadly second wave of coronavirus this winter - and must prepare now to fight it, two of the government's top scientific advisors warned today.Sir Jeremy Farrar, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, predicted a "true second wave will come in the winter months, in October, November."He warned the next three months are "absolutely critical" to prevent the "national catastrophe" that has killed more than 50,000 people repeating itself.Without "core infrastructures" in place, he said, there could be a "very nasty rebound" of Covid-19. Asked if it could cost more lives he replied: "It could do."A second SAGE member, former Chief Scientific Advisor Sir Mark Walport, warned there is a "significant risk" of a spike in infections this winter. He suggested cold and damp conditions might help the virus thrive, just when the NHS is under more pressure from other diseases.Sir Jeremy Farrar, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, predicted a "true second wave will come in the winter months, in October, November"The PM has said there could be local lockdowns if the virus spikes - with health officials already closely monitoring an outbreak in Leicester.And he has insisted he will not hesitate to pull up the "handbrake" if people ignore the ongoing ban on gatherings of more than six people outside.""Crowds gather on the beach in Bournemouth on ThursdaySir Jeremy, director of the Wellcome Trust, said he is "worried" about a possible spike in coronavirus infections already."I would predict, I would guess, that we will start to see a few increases in cases towards the end of June or the first week of July."We're on a knife edge, it's very precarious the situation, particularly in England at the moment, and I would anticipate we would see an increase in new cases over the coming weeks."Coronavirus spike could see first local lockdown in days as cases surge in LeicesterBoris Johnson hints at second lockdown for local coronavirus outbreaksSir Jeremy Farrar argued the next three months were "absolutely critical" in the fight against coronavirus.He said: "Come the winter, come the reopening of schools, which is absolutely critical, we can anticipate to see rebounds and second waves."It comes back to local control being really important to identify those clusters when they happen and clamp down on them quickly."We need to do everything we possibly can to avoid a widespread second wave."
Steve Taylor ● 2315d