The UK is gradually coming out of lockdown in line with a government-charted roadmap, twice weekly testing for everyone in England announced, and encouraging data on the vaccine rollout across the nation.
Professor Neil Ferguson, aka “Professor Lockdown the advisor from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). This is urged tighter on UK border controls to maintain the South African coronavirus in different variants at all bay, by which it has been spreading in major European countries struggling with the presence of the third COVID-19 wave.
Ferguson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programmed, “Perhaps of more concern for the UK though is that some countries are notably seeing a significant fraction, five to 10 per cent of cases, of the South African variant. When infection levels go up in France, to 30,000 cases a day, that implies there’s at least 1,500 to 2,000 cases a day of the South African variant. That is the variant we really do want to keep out of the UK,”
The Imperial College London epidemiologist, who revealed that he’s had the AstraZeneca jab, urged government ministers to maintain caution when considering the loosening restriction on every international travel.
He also said “I think the key thing is the risk of importing variants which might undermine our vaccination programmed and the one we’re particularly concerned about at the moment is the South African variant called B.1.351,”
On the other hand, it is clearly stated the UK has already started to vaccinated over 31 million British citizens with the first dose of it. It is taken either from AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine, which is more than half the adult population.