Coronavirus ‘to peak over Easter with thousands infected’ and ’cause worst holiday chaos since WW2′, experts warn
CORONAVIRUS is likely to peak over Easter — causing the worst holiday disruption since World War Two.
Tens of thousands of people in Britain will be infected by the killer bug in the coming weeks, health officials are warning.
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Half of all cases are expected during a three-week window, overlapping with Easter on April 12, they say.
The prediction prompted warnings from experts to avoid travelling, to call off family gatherings if anyone is ill and for the over-70s to skip social occasions or going to church.
Professor Robert Dingwall, a public health expert at Nottingham Trent University, said: “It’s a fair assumption the peak of this outbreak will overlap with the Easter break.
“This Easter will be like no other, certainly since World War Two.
"For most people alive today, they will not have experienced anything like it before.
"There will inevitably be less travel and fewer big gatherings. Major disruption is very likely.”
The grim picture emerged as the sixth death from the virus in Britain was recorded.
The latest victim, a man in his 80s with underlying health problems, died at Watford General Hospital.
As confirmed cases rose by 63 in a day to reach 382, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries predicted “many thousands of people” in Britain would be infected.
She said: “We can expect a peak in cases. It has a relatively slow take-off — that’s where we are at the moment — then it will start to rise quite sharply.
'I WOULDN'T GO TO CHURCH'
“Within ten to 14 days, we will be likely to advise people with symptoms to self-isolate.”
Professor Paul Hunter, of the University of East Anglia, said: “I probably wouldn’t go to church if I was over-70.
"And if someone is unwell in the family, it may not be a good idea to invite elderly relatives to a big gathering.”
In other developments:
- GPs complained over a lack of protective equipment and confusion about treating patients with chest infections;
- There were no handshakes from the Queen at a Buckingham Palace event;
- NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland said affected mortgage customers may be allowed to defer repayments;
- Health minister Jo Churchill said patients could expect to wait longer for non-urgent NHS treatment;
- Passengers have complained of being stranded in locked-down Italy after airlines cancelled flights;
- Patients have been stealing hand sanitiser, toilet rolls and handwash from GP surgeries;
- A worker at Great Ormond Street was diagnosed with the virus, leading to the postponement of all non-essential cardiac procedures for two weeks;
- Trinity College Dublin and Harvard University in the US said they were moving lessons online;
- Brits are buying more than 700 military-spec gas masks a day from doomsday prepping shops;
- The Royal Television Society Programme Awards will be held behind closed doors next week.
- A glitch with the NHS 111 online symptom checker service meant people returning from Italy were wrongly told not to self-isolate.
Meanwhile, health bosses agreed to step up coronavirus testing from 1,500 people to 10,000 people a day.
It means patients should get results quickly as NHS hospitals will offer tests on site, instead of sending them to Public Health England labs.
A surgeon may have infected hundreds of vulnerable patients as he failed to self-isolate after contracting the bug on a skiing holiday in Italy.
The dad of four — an ear, nose and throat senior surgeon — also attended a staff meeting with other doctors at Liverpool’s Aintree University Hospital before being sent home sick.
At least two other staff are in self-quarantine but there are fears he could have infected hundreds as he treats up to 400 patients a week.
A fake news storm also erupted after a video of Boris Johnson appearing to say Britain should just take deaths “on the chin” went viral.
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The clip of the PM on ITV’s This Morning was deliberately edited to twist his words.
Trouble-making Labour MP Toby Perkins said his words were “deeply damaging”.
Last night Tory MPs called on social media companies to crack down on fake news.
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