The British government’s two chief advisers on the coronavirus pandemic voiced cautious optimism that the country’s outbreak may be near its peak even as the COVID-19 death toll rose sharply to just shy of 8,000.
In the government’s daily press briefing, chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance noted signs that the rise in new coronavirus cases and the increase in the number of people going into hospital maybe levelling off as a result of the social distancing measures imposed. He also said the transmission of the coronavirus within the community may now be “shrinking.”
And Professor Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, also noted that the time it takes for the number of people in intensive care to double has got steadily longer over the past couple of weeks, from three days to six or more now and “extending in time.”
However, the number of people dying after testing positive for COVID-19 disease is set to carry on an upward trajectory for a couple of weeks in light of the lags involved, Vallance said.
Government figures earlier showed that the U.K. recorded 881 new coronavirus-related deaths, up from 938 in the previous 24-hour period. In total, 7,978 patients have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus.
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