Coronavirus: UK must be ready for second wave, say health leaders

Letter to politicians calls for review amid 'real risk' of renewed outbreak

Health leaders have written an open letter to politicians warning that the UK must be ready for the “real risk” of a second wave of coronavirus.

The appeal calls for an urgent assessment of the UK’s ability to deal with a renewed outbreak of the virus, so that further deaths can be prevented and the economy can be protected.

The letter, addressed to the leaders of all the UK political parties and published in the British Medical Journal, is signed by leading figures in the health sector, including the presidents of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons.

The signatories said that although the pandemic is difficult to predict, evidence suggests that “local flare ups are increasingly likely and a second wave a real risk.”

They added: "Many elements of the infrastructure needed to contain the virus are beginning to be put in place, but substantial challenges remain.

"The job now is not only to deal urgently with the wide-ranging impacts of the first phase of the pandemic, but to ensure that the country is adequately prepared to contain a second phase."

The medics said the first results of the review should come no later than August.

Professor Martin Marshall, the chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, was among those who signed the letter.

Prof Marshall told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a four-party and cross-nations review should be carried out to help the UK tackle a possible second wave of the disease.

“We think that there is a lot of constructed learning that could be done in a number of areas,” he said.

The areas he mentioned include learning how to strike a balance between central and local responses, how best to procure protective equipment and how to reduce the impact of Covid-19 on high-risk groups.

“Finally, we need to understand how best to learn from other countries which seem to have managed the crisis differently and perhaps managed it better,” he added.

The advice comes after the prime minister announced on Tuesday that lockdown restrictions would be significantly eased from early July.

As part of this lifting of measures, cinemas, hotels, pubs and restaurants will start to reopen from 4 July, while the current two-metre social-distancing guidance will be replaced with a “one-metre plus” rule.

However, Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, said that it was not a ‘risk-free’ move and stressed that it was “absolutely critical” for people to maintain social distancing.

He added that the virus could be around until at least the spring of 2021.

Some believe the government's easing of lockdown has come too early, including David King, a former chief scientific advisor to the government.

Speaking of the prime minister's latest announcement, Mr King told Sky News: “I think it’s extraordinarily risky.”

“If we move too quickly, which is what I think is being proposed here, the risk of running into a second wave becomes very significant,” he added.

Additional reporting from agencies