Second lockdown: UK could see 50k covid cases a day in 3 weeks without new measures, warn Whitty & Vallance

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BRITAIN could face 50,000 new coronavirus cases a day in just three weeks if the bug continues to spread at its current rate, the nation’s top medics warned this morning.

Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance said in a televised speech that the UK is at a “critical point” and “this could move very fast”.

Cases could skyrocket in three weeks if no action is taken
Whitty and Vallance are about to issue a new warning to the nation

As cases of the virus rise in the UK and across Europe, they explained how the virus is spreading and the potential scenarios as the nation moves into winter.

Using charts and graphs to set out the latest figures, they showed how the virus isn’t just spreading among younger people, but now older generations too.

Sir Patrick Vallance said: “In every age group we have seen an increase….It is now estimated that roughly 70,000 people in the UK have Covid infection and that about 6,000 people per day are getting the infection.

“If that continues unabated and this grows doubling every seven days then what you see… is by mid October we would end up with something like 50,000 cases per day.”

And more people are going into hospital as a result, he warned.

200 people a day could be hospitalised by the middle of next month if the trend continues, he said.

Professor Whitty added that everyone has a part to play in stopping the disease, saying: “This is not someone else’s problem, this is all of our problems.”

The virus is currently doubling roughly every week.

Boris Johnson is still considering whether to make any major new national measures in the coming days.

A source told HOAR that their predictions will “make the Cabinet wet the bed”.

No10 warned Brits were in the “last chance saloon”. But ministers fear a lockdown will kill the economy.

But senior Tory MPs urged Boris Johnson to hold firm and not risk “economic disaster” by ordering another national lockdown.

The virus is spreading in Spain and France – and the UK could be shortly behind
Boris Johnson and his ministers will also be addressed privately, in a 'scary' briefing
Boris Johnson and his ministers will also be addressed privately, in a ‘scary’ briefing