A patient is taken to Royal London Hospital in London during England’s third national lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, January 10, 2021.
Aaron Chown / PA Images via Getty Images
LONDON – UK Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned Monday that the “next few weeks will be the worst weeks” of the coronavirus pandemic for the UK’s National Health Service.
Whitty spoke to the BBC and stressed that more than 30,000 people have now been hospitalized with the virus in England alone.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the number of people across the UK who have died from the virus was 80,000 this weekend, up to 81,567. On Friday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a major incident related to the rapid spread of Covid-19 in the British capital, with one in 30 Londoners reported to have the virus.
Whitty said people had to “double down” on complying with public health restrictions, as it would take several weeks for the coronavirus vaccines currently being rolled out to take effect.
“Any unnecessary contact you have with someone is a possible link in a chain of transmission that will lead to a vulnerable person,” Whitty said.
Vaccination Minister Nadhim Zahawi said in a statement released Sunday that about 1.5 million Britons have now received the Covid-19 shot. He promised that by the end of this week, more than 1,000 physician-run sites would be operational, as well as 223 hospitals, seven major vaccination centers and the first wave of 200 community pharmacies.
In a question and answer session on BBC radio on Monday morning, Whitty said that “I think we were all very relieved” that the government has reversed its decision to relax the restrictions for five days to allow people to gather for Christmas. the light of news about a new variant. of the coronavirus.