WHO expert warns ‘we haven’t gotten through worst of pandemic’ amid loosening of rules

A World Health Organization special envoy on Covid-19 said it was “too early to talk about relaxation or massive freedom” despite the rollout of vaccines in the UK.

Dr David Nabarro told Radio 4’s Today program that “the pandemic is progressing fiercely around the world” and that “I don’t think we’ve been through the worst.”

Asked about the government’s shift to personal responsibility, he said: ‘All of this does not quite match the position taken by Britain, along with other nations, a few months ago, when there had a real effort to try to prevent people catching the disease, partly because of the risk of death and partly because of the recognition of the risk of long Covid.

“You have to be unequivocal about this particular challenge. What does it mean to urge caution? It is important that everyone knows the best possible advice to avoid getting infected.

“I accept that vaccination has changed the nature of the equation in the UK, but quite frankly by any means it is too early to talk about relaxation or massive freedom when the epidemic curve is. on such a steep ascent.

“Yes, relax, but don’t get these mixed messages about what’s going on. This dangerous virus has not disappeared, its variants are coming back and threatening those who have already been vaccinated – we must take it seriously. “

Dr Nabarro urged people to continue with preventative measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

“People would be well advised to continue to practice what they have learned to do so well, which is techniques to reduce the risk of the virus spreading,” he told Today.

“But more importantly, you need public health systems that can identify people with the disease and help them self-isolate quickly and effectively and this has to be done flawlessly everywhere to prevent peaks from transforming. in outbreaks. “

It comes as Boris Johnson has announced that England will continue lifting the lockdown despite the continued upsurge in Covid-19 infections.

At a press conference in Downing Street, Mr Johnson acknowledged that the pandemic “is not over” and called on people to proceed with caution.

At the same time, he said postponing the easing of restrictions until the fall would risk reopening when schools are back from their summer vacation and people are spending more time indoors then. as the weather turns cold.

Nicola Sturgeon is expected to announce whether Scotland’s coronavirus restrictions can be relaxed as planned on Monday.

The prime minister said she hopes to bring the whole country to level 0 from July 19, based on the latest number of cases, hospital admissions and vaccination rollout.

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The Welsh government is expected to outline its next steps on Wednesday.

The latest daily official figures showed cases continue to rise with another 34,471 laboratory-confirmed infections in the UK as of 9 a.m. on Monday.

According to current modeling, the wave peak is not expected before mid-August, when there could be 1,000 to 2,000 hospitalizations per day, with deaths expected to reach between 100 and 200 per day.