As the novel coronavirus pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China is showing no signs of slowing down, a top UK expert has claimed that the deadly outbreak is entering its worst weeks. Chris Witty, England's chief medical officer also appealed to the public to strictly follow coronavirus guidelines to prevent the drastic spread of the pandemic.
Highly infectious variant adds up to the worries
It was around a few days back that a highly infectious variant of coronavirus, which is 75 percent more transmissible than the original virus variant got detected in the United Kingdom. Witty warned that the pandemic could worsen in the coming weeks, as the new variant has emerged as the dominant strain in the country.
"I think everybody accepts that this is the most dangerous time we've really had in terms of numbers into the NHS," Witty told the BBC.
The warning from Witty comes at a time when the healthcare sector in the United Kingdom is struggling to keep up with rising coronavirus positive cases. The expert added that the only way to reduce the spread of the coronavirus infection is by minimizing the number of contacts.
Violations amid the third lockdown
It was on last week that the United Kingdom entered a third nationwide lockdown. Even though strict restrictions are being imposed by the authorities, police have reported several lockdown violations. The UK government believes that strict restrictions could reduce the strain on the National Health Service (NHS). In the meantime, the UK is also ramping up a nationwide mass coronavirus vaccination program aimed at vaccinating at least 15 million people by mid-February.
According to the latest statistics, COVID-19 positive cases in the United Kingdom have crossed three million, and the death toll has surpassed 81,000. The United States continues to top the coronavirus chaos chart with 22 million positive cases and more than 3,80,000 deaths.
