Coronavirus UK news update – 3rd covid wave WON’T overwhelm NHS despite Boris ‘never-ending lockdown’ fears, experts say

THE UK’s looming third wave of coronavirus simply doesn’t risk overwhelming the NHS like the first two could have done, top experts have revealed.

Modelling by Imperial College London academics, who have previously provided some of our more ominous forecasts, said even with lockdown measures fully lifted in June, deaths would remain in the double digits.

The low numbers are due to the UK’s brilliant vaccine rollout which means the overwhelming our most vulnerable citizens should have some protection when the third wave does inevitably hit our shores.

While every death is a tragedy, those kind of numbers suggest the NHS would be more than able to cope with the number of increased hospitalisations, meaning lockdown measures are no longer necessary.

Modelling suggests even at the peak of the third wave, covid patients would take up around 5,000 hospital beds across the country – far fewer than the 30,000 beds we saw at the peak of the coronavirus crisis in January.

The modelling comes as the government was blasted for providing a grim vision of the next 12 months in which social distancing, twice-weekly covid testing and mandatory mask wearing could be required.

Scaling back some of his positive messaging around June 21 being “freedom day”, Boris Johnson did insist his lockdown roadmap was still on track at a press conference last night.

But earlier in the day data released by the government suggested the June 21 date could spark a fourth wave of coronavirus in the country by late summer / early Autumn.

The earlier the country unlocks, the worse the fourth wave will be, the report produced by the government’s SAGE advisory panel suggested.

SAGE also suggested social distancing and mask wearing would need to remain in place until this time next year – and said it only had “reasonable confidence’ that Covid will be manageable by spring 2022.

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