Coronavirus hotspots have potential to trigger third wave in UK: Experts

Experts in the UK warned that virus hotspots have the potential to trigger a third wave of coronavirus infection in the country. The caution comes just a day before the Boris Johnson administration is scheduled to ease months of stringent lockdown with an aim to revive the economy and trade. However, experts in the country warned that with more and more virus epicentres emerging, lawmakers should “follow the data, not dates,” a promise they made earlier. 

The UK, which has fully inoculated as many as five lakh people has reported emerging virus hotspots in over 30 areas. As per the latest tally by John Hopkins University, the country has reported an overall caseload of 4,382,880, with the averages number of cases per 100,000 people stands a 30.7. However, at least 28 local authorities have reported at least double that number. Five of them, which includes Wakefield, Barnsley, Mansfield, Corby and Clackmannanshire –has reported an average of thrice that number. 

Isolation systems

According to the country's leading experts, a more cautious approach would be to wait until more among the tens of millions of people who have yet to be inoculated have had their vaccinations. Additionally, they also pointed out that in the absence of a proper, well-organized system of isolating patients, there could be a significant rise in daily COVID-19 cases. 

Speaking to the Observer, Stephen Griffin, an expert at Leeds University Medical School asserted that there were many regions in the country that still have “high infection rates”. Despite that, many people from the region have asserted that they cannot afford to self isolate, adding that it was the responsibility of the government to tackle the issue urgently. 

Speaking about the same, Professor Lawrence Young from Warwick medical school later added that ‘the test, trace and isolate’ that was supposed to curtail the spread of the infection was not working well. He highlighted that dozen of people, even after testing positive refrain from isolating, and there is a need for a properly funded system to quarantine COVID-19 patients safely. 

(Image Credits: Associated Press)