Medical chief ‘very concerned’ about second wave of Covid-19

LONDON: England’s deputy chief medical officer has said she is “very, very concerned” about a second wave of Covid-19 and urged people to take action now — such as losing weight — to help fend off the illness.

Dr Jenny Harries said there is “still quite a long haul” to go with coronavirus, adding that people must not become complacent and must keep up hand-washing, social distancing and limiting social interactions.

“The virus is still out there, it’s looking for more people to infect and we need to stop it getting a grip,” she told ITV’s This Morning. She said there is good news around Covid-19, such as children not getting very sick, but there are also risk factors, such as people being overweight. “Obesity is actually problematic and that’s one of the things that we could do something about,” she said.

Dr Harries said more research is needed regarding at which point in an illness somebody can transmit the virus, adding that asymptomatic transmission is “really difficult to detect”.

She said the period probably around 36 to 48 hours before symptoms develop is an important one for managing coronavirus but is difficult to study.

On the issue of face masks, she said there are “ongoing discussions” around their more widespread use but the evidence around transmission and people’s behaviour when using masks has not had “sufficient strength” so far.

Asked by presenter Phillip Schofield if the virus is weakening in strength, as some scientists believe, Dr Harries said: “There is a possibility that that is happening but I think we don’t have enough clear evidence of that at the moment. And I just say two things: it is possible that that will happen but we should not be complacent.”