A patient is being brought to Royal London Hospital in London during England’s third national blockade to reduce the spread of coronavirus on Sunday 10 January 2021.
Aaron Chown / PA Images via Getty Images
LONDON – England’s medical director Chris Whitty warned on Monday that “the next few weeks will be the worst weeks” of the coronavirus pandemic for Britain’s National Health Service.
Whitty spoke to the BBC, noting that there are now more than 30,000 people hospitalized with the virus in England alone.
The number of people across the UK who died from the virus exceeded 80,000 over the weekend, reaching 81,567, according to Johns Hopkins University. On Friday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said there was a major incident over the rapid spread of Covid-19 in the UK capital, with one in 30 Londoners saying they had the virus.
Whitty said people should therefore “double” in terms of compliance with public health restrictions, as it will take several weeks for the coronavirus vaccines that are currently being released to take effect.
“Any unnecessary contact you have with someone is a potential link in a chain of transmission that will lead to a vulnerable person,” Whitty said.
Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi said in a statement on Sunday that about 1.5 million Britons had now received the Covid-19 jab. He promised that by the end of this week there would be more than 1,000 doctor-run sites, as well as 223 hospitals, seven large vaccination centers and the first wave of 200 community pharmacies.
In a question and answer session on BBC radio on Monday morning, Whitty said that “I think we were all very relieved” that the government had overturned its decision to ease restrictions for five days to allow people to meet. Christmas, in the light of news about a new variant of coronavirus.