Local lockdowns won t work on Indian variant warns Covid expert
But Professor James Naismith, from the University of Oxford, said not enough was known to say for sure whether the variant could frustrate the UK s vaccination programme
15:42, 13 MAY 2021
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Local lockdowns will not work on the Indian Covid-19 variant, according to an expert.
But Professor James Naismith, from the University of Oxford, said not enough was known to say for sure whether the variant could frustrate the UK s vaccination programme.
Scientists meet as Indian variant threatens Boris Johnson s lockdown roadmap. (PA) THE Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has held a meeting today over the concerning rise in cases of the Covid-19 Indian variant. It could have huge ramifications in the UK as scientists fear the rise of the variant could delay Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown. A member of Sage said a “delay is possible” to the UK’s plans to end lockdown when speaking to the i newspaper. Scientists are keeping a close eye on the spread of the Indian variant across the UK, but there are currently no signs that infection is leading to rising hospital admissions, experts have said.
The Government is “anxious” about the Indian variant of coronavirus and is “ruling nothing out”, Boris Johnson has said, as he hinted local restrictions may be needed.
Scientists are keeping a close eye on the spread of the variant across the UK, with new figures from Public Health England (PHE) on Thursday expected to show a big rise in cases.
Speaking at a primary school in Ferryhill, County Durham, the Prime Minister said: “It is a variant of concern, we are anxious about it.
“At the moment there is a very wide range of scientific opinion about what could happen.
13 May 2021
A Cabinet minister confirmed the government’s team of scientific advisors is holding an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the Indian variant of the Chinese coronavirus, with the prime minister saying there was “increasing concern” of its spread in the UK.
On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the next phase of unlocking from restrictions was on track, the same day figures revealing England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland had seen no daily deaths from the Chinese virus for the first time since July 2020.
However, days later, he said there was rising concern over an emerging Indian variant, with the prime minister telling the House of Commons on Wednesday that “we must be vigilant, because the threat of this virus remains real and new variants including the one first identified in India, which is of increasing concern here in the UK pose a potentially lethal danger. Caution has to be our watchword.”
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