The director of the World Health Organization (WHO) has given a stark warning that if people do not do their part in tackling Covid-19 then there will be a second and more “costly lockdown.”
Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London, also warned on Sunday speaking to Sky News that the UK is facing another national lockdown.
Professor Openshaw warned that, “I think everyone is in agreement that we really need to act very quickly now in order to prevent this from growing exponentially and that’s the main point, is that we must act fast because it is so much harder to get this sort of thing under control if you delay even a few days.
“This is potentially going to be quite dangerous now at this particular moment.”
He added, “But if we don’t do this now we are going to be right back in hard lockdown in short order, that’s the only way we have at the moment for controlling this but there are other things on the horizon.
“We need to act quickly. This isn’t a game. We shouldn’t be out trying to party as hard as we can in the run up to Monday’s lockdown.
“We should all be thinking about what we can do to slow down the spread.”
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that Europe are now seeing infections rising higher than the first peak, as Spain and France are recording daily cases exceeding 10,000.
Dr Ghebreyesus admitted that death at the moment are “relatively low level,” but he warned Europe is not “out of the woods yet.”
The WHO director added, “Lives and livelihoods have been lost, the global economy is in recession and social and political fault lines have been exposed.
“The European region is no exception. Many of your countries have been the among hardest hit. We are by no means out of the woods.
“The average daily number of cases in the region is now higher than it was during the first peak in March.
“Fortunately, the number of deaths appears to be remaining at a relatively low level – for now.
“But every death is a tragedy, and there can be no room for complacency. If we do not keep transmission in check, more people will lose their lives, and there is the real risk of reintroducing so-called lockdown measures that have been so costly.”
Dr Chaand Nagpaul of the British Medical Association council chairman, said on Sunday to Sky News, “With daily cases still alarmingly high, and winter just around the corner, we are at a critical crossroads in the fight against this deadly virus.
“All efforts must be made to avoid a repeat of the horror and tragedy we all experienced earlier this year.”
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