England's Chief Medical Officer has warned that a third wave of coronavirus will definitely hit the UK at some point.
Professor Chris Whitty said new variants, vaccine shortages and Covid-19 transmission in schools and prisons will all bring problems.
Speaking at Tuesday's public health conference organised by the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Public Health, Prof Whitty said: "This is a sad day, really.
"The path from here on in does look better than the last year but there are going to be lots of bumps and twists on the road from here on in.
"There will definitely be another surge at some point, whether it's before winter or in the next winter, we don't know.
"Variants are going to cause problems, there will be stock-outs of vaccines and no doubt there will be multiple problems at a national level but also at a local level - school outbreaks, prison outbreaks, all the things that people are dealing with on a daily basis."
Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies adviser Professor Calum Semple said the third wave could hit our shores by the summer - reports Chronicle Live.
He said: "The concern at present is that in countries where there's less vaccination and a very strong third wave, that's the perfect breeding ground for further variants of concern.
"So, at this point, Britain has got its act together, the concern is as this third wave is going on elsewhere, that will generate new variations.
"Even within Britain there is a likelihood of a third wave in potentially July and August time, when we do unlock society."
But Downing Street has insisted the roadmap to easing the lockdown remains “on course” despite Mr Johnson’s warning that Europe’s third wave of cases could “wash up on our shores”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “He was referring to the fact that as we’ve seen throughout this pandemic it’s been the case we’ve seen infection rates rise on the continent and that has had an impact previously on infection rates here in the UK.
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“As we’ve said, we expect and we have expected rates to rise as we come out of lockdown, that’s why we’ve been clear that moving too fast too soon through the road map risks a resurgence in infections and hospitalisations.
"That’s why we outlined a cautious and hopefully irreversible road map.
“Obviously this time we have as a defence our very extensive vaccination programme.
“We remain on course for the individual steps in the roadmap, that hasn’t changed.”
