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This comes after Boris Johnson revealed plans to ease the lockdown further by reopening pubs, restaurants and hairdressers from July 4th.

Official Government figures say the current virus death toll is 42, 927.

Whilst new data from the Office for National Statistics reveal that figure could be considerably higher.

They believe the COVID-related deaths are nearly 54,000.

Mr Whitty expects that the virus could still control the way the UK operates into next year.

He said: “I would be surprised and delighted if we weren’t in this current situation, through the winter, and into next spring.

“I expect there to be a significant amount of coronavirus circulating at least into that time,” he revealed.

Whilst the restrictions offer the people of the UK the chance to take one step closer to normality, the Prime Minister announced “he would not hesitate” to reverse new regulations if Covid-19 begins to “run out of control.”

Health leaders have called for an urgent review on the “real risk” of a second wave of coronavirus.

Ministers believe the Government must act fast to prevent further loss of life.

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Health leaders penned a letter to all the UK political parties published in the British Medical Journal, urging the Government to undergo a “rapid and forward-looking assessment” on how prepared the UK is for another spike.

The said: “While the future shape of the pandemic in the UK is hard to predict, the available evidence indicates that local flare-ups are increasingly likely and a second wave a real risk,

“Many elements of the infrastructure needed to contain the virus are beginning to be put in place, but substantial challenges remain.

“The job now is not only to deal urgently with the wide-ranging impacts of the first phase of the pandemic but to ensure that the country is adequately prepared to contain a second phase.”

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Medical leaders asked parties to create a cross-party commission.

They added: “We believe this will be essential if the UK is to get ahead of the curve.

“It should focus on those areas of weakness where the action is needed urgently to prevent further loss of life and restore the economy as fully and as quickly as possible/.

“We think there’s a strong case for an immediate assessment of national preparedness, with the first results available no later than August, and that all its work should be completed by the end of October.”

In other coronavirus news, scientists suggest that the Government should lift lockdown in a large city to see if they can control the virus.

Top scientists suggest easing the lockdown in a city the size of Southampton could be the perfect measuring stick to see how the virus reacts out of lockdown.

The experiment would see weekly testing of every resident.

The idea would use saliva tests on more than 240,000 residents and if the move is successful, it could offer the Government a route out of lockdown and a return to post-coronavirus normality.

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