UK must 'keep South African covid variant at bay' warns expert

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The successful vaccination campaign in the UK has seen over 27 million people receive their first jab – but a top scientist believes the nation could plunge into chaos in a matter of weeks. In an interview with Sky News, a top scientist, who remains anonymous, confirmed a surge in cases across the British Channel with a warning that there is likely to be a surge in the UK too.

The scientist said: “Across Europe, numbers are going in the wrong direction and we should be wary of that because in the past that has led to increased numbers here.”

“The decrease in cases [in the UK] is slowing down and we are at a more fragile point than we were a few weeks ago.

“We are in a place that’s a bit vulnerable.”

The warning comes as Germany’s head of public health declared “the beginning of a third wave” on March 19.

It also comes as Paris and 15 other French regions entered lockdown on Saturday morning.

Italy announced its strictest lockdown yet this week, with over 20 regions in the country experiencing the closure of schools and non-essential shops.

Reports indicate there were nearly 35,000 new cases in France on Thursday – compared to 4,802 in the UK on Friday.

“We don’t fully understand why we see cases going up here a couple of weeks after a rise across the Channel,” the scientist added.

“It would be wrong to assume we are out of the woods. Things are still headed in the right direction overall.

“It’s headed in the right direction, only slower.”

The R number, representing the reproductive rate of the virus, rose marginally across the UK after schools returned on March 8.

Students in England have been tested for the virus three times since schools reopened two weeks ago and are to be given a further two home-use tests each week.

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Speaking yesterday on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, SAGE adviser Professor Neil Ferguson urged Brits to avoid European holidays in order to keep new variants, such as the South African B.1.351, out of the country.

He said: “When infection levels go up in France, to 30,000 cases a day, that implies there are at least 1,500 to 2,000 cases a day of the South African variant.

“That is the variant we really do want to keep out of the UK.”

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