Скачать или смотреть Pandemic is 'much worse' than when it started in March, doctor warns

An epidemiologist has said people must take UK lockdown measures seriously as “we are now in the eye of a storm”.  Professor Peter Horby, chairman of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “I really hope people take this very seriously. It was bad in March, it’s much worse now.  “We’ve seen record numbers across the board, record numbers of cases, record numbers of hospitalisations, record numbers of deaths.  “We are now in the eye of a storm, so to speak, and people need to take this extremely seriously.”  The number of patients with Covid-19 in hospital is at a record high in England, while the official coronavirus death toll for the UK passed 80,000 on Saturday and lab-confirmed cases hit more than three million.  He said the current lockdown measures might have to be tightened further if it becomes evident they are not working against the virus.  “Now we’re in a situation where everything that was risky in the past is now more risky so we are going to have to be very, very strict about the measures.  “Whether the current restrictions are enough, I think it remains to be seen. It will be a week or two before it becomes clear. They may be sufficient but we have to be very vigilant and if there’s any sign that they’re not, then we’re going to have to be even stricter I’m afraid.”  He also said the information to date on the success of vaccines against new variants is “very encouraging”.  “So far, the data we have is encouraging that the vaccines still work just as well (against new variants).  “We need more data but so far it’s very encouraging.”  He said it might be that people would have to get a coronavirus vaccine “every few years” if it does need to be updated against new variants, and added that the virus “will not go away”.  He said: “This one (virus) I think will not go away. We’re going to have to live with it but that may change significantly.  “It may well become more of an endemic virus, that’s with us all the time and may cause some seasonal pressures and some excess deaths, but is not causing the huge disruption that we’re seeing now.”