The “United Kingdom” could be affected by “thousands of cases” of coronaviruses and hundreds will die if we do not ban all large public gatherings and limit public transport, an expert on major diseases warned today.
Sergio Brusin of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control warns that Britain could be blocked in just fifteen days unless ministers take drastic action – and soon.
Speaking of the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire Show, which will soon be finalized, Brusin said that the UK government has only “days” to do what is necessary to prevent the deadly coronavirus COVID-19 from taking over Britain as in Italy.
The expert said that all large-scale gatherings, such as sports matches and musical performances, should be banned, reports Daily Star Online.
(Image: BBC)
While the use of public transport should be limited to essential travel only.
Brusin said: “If you do nothing, thousands of cases will come.
“The UK is in the same situation as Italy two weeks ago.”
In the UK, as of this morning, there have been 319 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Tonight, the fifth death was confirmed at St. Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Sutton, London.
(Image: PA)
The number of cases increased by 46 between 9 on Sunday and 9 on Monday, the largest increase in 24 hours.
The Department of Health said 24,960 people with 24,641 negative results were tested.
Brusin added: “Italy has gone from 200 to 1000 in 10 days.
“Here’s how this disease works.”
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Asked by the TV host if we were to ban all large meetings, Brusion replied: “It would be a very reasonable thing to do.
“Otherwise, you will find yourself in the same situation in Italy.”
Italy has the largest number of confirmed cases outside China at 7,375, and its death toll is 366.
Prison riots have sprung up across the country, with the deaths of six inmates. The BBC reports that 27 prisons have seen riots break out.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Six inmates died. A fire broke out in San Vittore prison before the inmates protested on the roof.
The unrest was unleashed after prison visits were suspended.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that this was his country’s “darkest hour”.
The trajectory of the coronavirus epidemic in the UK is so far very similar to that of northern Italy, according to another expert tonight.
Francois Balloux, professor of biology of computational systems and director of the Genetics Institute of University College London (UCL), said that the current blockade of around 16 million people in Italy will slow the spread of Covid-19 but ” it has a high cost to people, communities and the economy. “
He added: “It is also not sustainable in the long term.”
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Professor Balloux said that “importing” cases into the UK through travel abroad can only play a small part of how the virus spreads to the UK.
But he added: “The trajectory of the epidemic in the United Kingdom is so far roughly comparable to that in northern Italy, but with the epidemic in northern Italy two or three weeks ahead of the situation in the United Kingdom.
“It is possible that a blockade strategy similar to that imposed in northern Italy could be adopted by the United Kingdom and other countries in the future.
“The Covid-19 epidemic can no longer be contained.”
Brusin said he feared that the UK will see a huge spike unless the government takes the situation seriously.
Asked by the guest how long Britain had to act, she replied, “A few days.”
The death toll in Italy rose by a massive 133 in a single day on Sunday.
Much of northern Italy is starting a week of quarantine blockade.
Other measures could include closing schools and encouraging companies to ask employees to work from home.
Public Health England defines social distancing as “the temporary reduction of socialization in public places such as entertainment or sporting events, the reduction of our use of non-essential public transport or more home work”.
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