March 2020. Four out of five Britons are expected to become infected with the coronavirus and almost 8m may need to be taken into hospital in a “reasonable” worst-case scenario, according to a leaked document from Public Health England which provides the bleakest assessment so far of the course of the outbreak. The assessment comes as prime minister Boris Johnson announced the start of daily press conferences to inform the public on measures to fight the coronavirus, amid criticism of the government’s communications strategy. Mr Johnson or another senior minister will host the media events with senior medical and scientific officers, as the government prepares to increase “social distancing” measures to help contain the disease. The PHE document, reported by the Guardian newspaper, suggested that the Covid-19 virus could remain a threat for a year. The newspaper said the document was drawn up as a “secret” briefing for senior NHS officials. Dr Susan Hopkins, deputy director of PHE’s National Infection Service said: “PHE used reasonable worse-case scenario figures, to restate the importance for people with symptoms to stay at home, including healthcare workers in order to reduce the spread of the virus.” The document stated: “As many as 80 per cent of the population are expected to be infected with Covid-19 in the next 12 months, and up to 15 per cent (7.9m people) may require hospitalisation.”
Mar 2020. Coronavirus World Lockdown Part 6
