The UK government's decision to introduce more stringent social distancing and self-isolation measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak was partly based on a fresh academic study that predicted 250,000 deaths if ministers did not take stronger action, the Sky News broadcaster reported on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th March, 2020) The UK government's decision to introduce more stringent social distancing and self-isolation measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak was partly based on a fresh academic study that predicted 250,000 deaths if ministers did not take stronger action, the Sky news broadcaster reported on Tuesday.
On Monday, the UK government published its latest guidance on social distancing as COVID-19 continues to spread. Authorities have urged the public to avoid large gatherings and those aged 70 or over have been advised to self-isolate.
According to the broadcaster, this decision was taken after a research team at London's Imperial College called COVID-19 the greatest epidemiological threat to the country since the Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918 that killed at least 20 million people worldwide.
"The global impact of COVID-19 has been profound, and the public health threat it represents is the most serious seen in a respiratory virus since the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic," researchers wrote in the report.
Without tougher measures or transitioning to the "suppression" phase of outbreak response, researchers predicted 250,000 deaths in the United Kingdom and up to 1.2 million deaths in the United States. On Thursday, the UK had moved from the "contain" phase to the "delay" phase of response to COVID-19.
"We show that in the UK and US context, suppression will minimally require a combination of social distancing of the entire population, home isolation of cases and household quarantine of their family members. This may need to be supplemented by school and university closures, though it should be recognized that such closures may have negative impacts on health systems due to increased absenteeism," researchers wrote.
UK education Secretary Gavin Williamson on Friday announced that the government would wait until specific guidance from the chief scientific adviser and the chief medical officers on whether to close schools.
As of 09:00 GMT on Monday, the UK Department of Health and Social Care has reported 1,543 confirmed cases of COVID-19, a rise of 171 from the previous day. The death toll from COVID-19 in the United Kingdom stands at 55 as of Monday afternoon, according to the UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock and regional health care officials.
