Entertainment
Kate Garraway reacts to ‘extraordinary’ claims Britain is ‘no longer in pandemic’ as Dr Amir Khan urges for caution
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Kate Garraway described the news that Britain is ‘no longer in a pandemic’ as an ‘extraordinary’ update.
The Good Morning Britain presenter’s husband, Derek Draper, had been one of the worst-affected coronavirus patients to survive in the UK, and spent over a year in hospital before returning to their family home in London recently.
Following the ramping up of the coronavirus vaccine programme and falling case numbers, Sarah Walker, Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, suggested that the UK is now in a new phase, moving from a pandemic to an endemic.
Discussing this at the beginning of today’s GMB instalment, Kate enthused: ‘Shall we just talk about that seemingly extraordinary news that Britain is now officially out of the pandemic.
‘It sounds like the news we’ve been waiting for’.
Despite the falling figures in cases and deaths, Dr Amir Khan urged that caution should still be taken.
‘It’s a very bold statement,’ he replied. ‘What they’ve done is take 1.6million swabs from people across the UK over the last few months, and compared those swabs from people who’ve been vaccinated to people who haven’t been vaccinated or are yet to be vaccinated.
‘What it shows is that even having one dose of the vaccine reduces your risk of having the virus, getting symptoms, it can reduce your risk of symptomatic infection by 74%. But, importantly, it can reduce your risk of having no symptoms and carrying the virus by over 50%.
‘We are hopefully turning the tide on the virus, and reducing this rate of transmission.’
Noting the rising cases in other countries around the world, the health expert added: ‘We’ve seen in India what happens when you lift restrictions too quickly or you don’t have any restrictions at all.
‘The vaccine is really good in bringing down the virus, but I wouldn’t say we’re out of [a pandemic] yet.’
Kate’s husband, Derek, spent more than a year in hospital after contracting coronavirus last March, with the illness inflicting devastating damage on his entire body.
She had cause for celebration recently after revealing the 53-year-old had been discharged from hospital, and had returned to the family home they share with children William and Darcey.
Sharing an update on his health battles on yesterday’s GMB, she explained there had been ‘lots of little positives’ following his arrival.
‘It’s been wonderful having Derek at home, and lots of little positives,’ the I’m A Celebrity star said. ‘Whether those are positives because it is genuinely helping his cognition being at home, or whether it’s just because I’m there to see the little things whereas I couldn’t go in before…’
‘I don’t know but it feels positive,’ she added. ‘So far, so good but I don’t want to tempt fate.’
Good Morning Britain continues on weekdays, at 6am, on ITV.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
