Scientists call for immediate lockdown exit delay as Covid figures show ‘serious third wave appearing’

‘I don’t think we can possibly wait any longer,’ warns former government chief scientific adviser

Options could include delaying reopening by a few weeks or modifications such as continued remote working and mask-wearing in workplaces (AFP via Getty Images)

Scientists have urged Boris Johnson to immediately announce a delay to the end of England’s lockdown and warned rising infections show signs of a third Covid wave.

Case rates are rising in more local areas of the UK than at any point since early January, with numbers increasing in almost all parts of north-west England, London and Scotland, new analysis shows.

Professor Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the government and chair of the Independent Sage group, said on Monday the latest data was “evidence of another wave appearing”.

Ministers are due to announce a decision in the next week whether all Covid restrictions will be lifted on 21 June as planned.

Reports have suggested suggest the prime minister is considering pushing so-called “freedom day” back by at least two weeks in order to allow more people to be fully vaccinated.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, stressed on Sunday the government was “absolutely open” to delaying the final unlocking if necessary but said it was too early to make a decision.

But Sir David told Sky News: “[There are] 5,300 new cases of the disease per day in the United Kingdom and we’re up about 2,000 on last week.”

“Now we’ve been discussing whether or not we’re going into a serious third wave and I don’t think we can possibly wait any longer - this is the evidence of another wave appearing.

“We know that anyone vaccinated twice is relatively safe against the virus, but let’s not forget the one in 25 new cases are people who have been vaccinated twice - that means 400 new cases a day are people who had the vaccine twice.”

He added: “The number of people in our hospitals, which the government says is relatively stable, it’s 932 per day going into hospital, which is up 65 from last week. It’s not actually stable, it is slowly rising.

“I’m very reluctant to say that we should not go out of lockdown on June 21, but I think the figures are in now, and it will be wise for the Government to announce right away a delay in opening, just so that we can all plan for the post-June 21 period.

“I would give a few weeks’ delay and see how the figures are emerging.”

Nearly three-quarters of local areas of the UK (283 out of 380) recorded a week-on-week rise in Covid-19 case rates for the seven days to 2 June. This is the highest proportion since 6 January.

In just under half of these places (134), the rise was small enough to be in single figures. But a growing number of areas are recording sharp jumps in rates, some of them large enough to push them above the symbolic level of 100 cases per 100,000 people.

The rise in rates has yet to be mirrored by a steady increase in Covid-19 hospital cases, however, with the latest data showing patient numbers have climbed slightly to levels last seen at the end of May.

Mr Hancock revealed on Sunday that the Delta Covid variant, first detected in India, was about 40 per cent more transmissable than the strain previously prevalent in the UK.

But he said vaccines were “working“ and that “very few” people who had been fully vaccinated were ending up in hospital, adding that some under-30s would be invited for their jabs this week.

NHS leaders have said those being admitted to hospital are generally younger and less likely to fall seriously ill.

Ravi Gupta, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge, said “a few more weeks rather than months” could be needed before leaving lockdown completely.

He told BBC Breakfast that options could include a modification of a full exit from lockdown. He suggested that this could involve both remote working and continued mask-wearing in workplaces.

The race to vaccinate the rest of the population against coronavirus will continue this week, with reports suggesting that those under 30 will soon be invited to book their vaccines.

Daily reported cases of Covid-19 remained above the 5,000 mark over the weekend, with a further 5,341 lab-confirmed cases recorded on Sunday. Meanwhile a further four people have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, as of 9am Sunday.

Figures suggest that 76.6 per cent of the adult population have had their first dose of the jab and more than half have been fully vaccinated.

Additional reporting by PA