Government scientific adviser Neil Ferguson has warned that Covid cases could rise again but that lockdowns are “unlikely” to be needed in the UK in future.
He said that it would also be “unlikely” that we would need social distancing measures that have been in place so far.
There would still likely be higher numbers of deaths each year than before, mainly during the colder months, as the world learns to live with the new disease – Prof Ferguson told The Times in an interview.
Vaccines have “changed the relationship between cases and hospitalisation”, he added.
If PM Boris Johnson had ordered the first lockdown in March 2020 a week earlier, then as many as 25,000 people’s lives could have been saved, Prof Ferguson suggested when he said that deaths would have been reduced by half and “maybe … by three quarters”.
The scientific adviser has stepped down from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), but remains on other government advisory committees.
In May last year, he broke social distancing rules after being paid a visit from his girlfriend. In the Times interview, he expressed sympathy for Matt Hancock over the affair that ended his tenure as health secretary during lockdown, rather than calling him a hypocrite for his criticism when Prof Ferguson’s own private life was subjected to scrutiny.
Meanwhile, in Wales, restrictions are being relaxed from today as the nation’s coronavirus alert level shifts to zero.
Social distancing rules will end, but face masks will still need to be worn in most public places, including buses, shops and hospitals.
