Hundreds of scientists have accused the government of “risking many more lives than necessary” over its plan to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.

Thousands of deaths could potentially be avoided if social distancing measures were put in place immediately, they add in an open letter.

Such action could slow the spread of COVID-19 “dramatically”, the scientists say.

They also warn that under “unconstrained growth”, the virus could affect “millions of people in the next few weeks”.

That would “most probably” put the NHS at “serious risk of not being able to cope with the flow of patients needing intensive care”, it is claimed.

The signatories say they are “deeply preoccupied” with the timeline of the proposed plan, announced on Thursday, which “aims at delaying social distancing measures even further”.

Ten more people have died in the UK after being diagnosed with coronavirus, with 1,140 cases now confirmed.

Spain is going into lockdown, and the UK and Ireland are to be added to America’s European travel ban at midnight on Monday, eastern standard time (0400 GMT).

The 245 UK scientists living and working in the UK write: “We consider the social distancing measures taken as of today as insufficient, and we believe that additional and more restrictive measures should be taken immediately, as it is already happening in other countries across the world.”

They observe that the growth of infections in the UK is “in line with the growth curves already observed in other countries, including Italy, Spain, France, and Germany”.

They continue: “The same data suggests that the number of infected will be in the order of dozens of thousands within a few days.

“Going for ‘herd immunity’ at this point does not seem a viable option, as this will put the NHS at an even stronger level of stress, risking many more lives than necessary.”

Herd immunity is when a large proportion of the population has become immune to something, thereby providing some protection to others who are not immune.

A Department of Health and Social care spokesman responded, saying: “Herd immunity is not part of our action plan, but is a natural by-product of an epidemic.

“Our aims are to save lives, protect the most vulnerable, and relieve pressure on our NHS.

“We have now moved out of the contain phase and into delay, and we have experts working round the clock. Every measure that we have or will introduce will be based on the best scientific evidence.

“Our awareness of the likely levels of immunity in the country over the coming months will ensure our planning and response is as accurate and effective as possible.”

Source: Read Full Article