Former Chief Scientific adviser and SAGE member Sir Mark Walport warned the impact of a second coronavirus lockdown in the UK may not be as effective. While speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge, Sir Mark claimed the second lockdown may not have the desired impact due to more people working and schools staying open. Because of this, he said it is possible that the lockdown could last longer than the initial one.
However, he did state the rate of increase may not be as sharp as it was during the initial stages of the pandemic.
Sir Mark said: “Coronavirus cases are unlikely to come down quite as fast as it did in the first lockdown.
“This is simply because we have got schools open, we have got more people working so social distancing is not quite as much as it was during the first lockdown period.”
Ms Ridge questioned whether the second lockdown could last longer even longer than the first.
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Sir Mark replied: “It is obviously a possibility.
“The only way to know is going to be really to count the cases as accurate as possible and it then should be apparent at what rate the numbers are dropping.”
The former SAGE chief also highlighted a key optimistic trend that the Government is also aware of.
He said: “The cases are not going up as fast this time as they were during the first lockdown.
During his Saturday coronavirus briefing, Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted significant measures needed to be introduced to stop the spread of coronavirus in the second wave.
He announced England would be entering into a second coronavirus lockdown from November 4.
This lockdown is intended to last until December 2nd but Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove said this would only be possible if the cases come down enough.
Under new lockdown restrictions, all non-essential businesses must close, except for schools and further education facilities.
