VIRAL SPREAD
The coronavirus map of England revealed – as cases rise for majority of country, Chris Whitty warns
CASES of the coronavirus are rising across the country and are no longer confined to local outbreaks, experts warned today.
Addressing the nation this morning, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty revealed new maps which show the transmission of the virus across England.
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It comes as cases of the virus continue to rise across the country.
Data released yesterday by the government revealed that cases have risen by 3,899 and another 18 people have died.
The new cases take the UK's total to 394,257, with a death toll of 41,777.
Prof Whitty insisted that people need to take responsibility for the spread.
He said there has been a progression of cases and stated that areas that had started to see a drop in case numbers have now started to increase again.
During the conference he referenced two maps that revealed the spread of the virus in England and said the result was similar for the rest of the UK.
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Looking at the map of the left in purple he said the darker colours represented the rate of transmission.
While the map on the right shows that areas marked in orange, yellow or brown, represent an increase in rates of transmission, the darker the colour the greater the rate of increase while green and blues represent a stable or falling rate of transmission.
He said high rates of transmission are concentrated at the moment in certain areas but added that there are rates of transmission "in many parts of the UK in the darker colours".
Prof Whitty said that at first there were small outbreaks that could have been associated with the work place but that this has now shifted towards more localised outbreaks.
He said: "Now what we are seeing is a rated increase across the great majority of the country, it's going at different rates but it is now increasing.
"What we have found is that as we go through in time, anywhere which was falling is now moving over to beginning to rise and the rate of rise continues in an upward direction.
"This is not someone else's problem, this is all of our problem."
He added that as winter approaches the "seasons are against us".
Prof Whitty added that there was "no evidence" that suggests that the virus is a milder strain now than than seen at the peak of the pandemic in April.
"What we've seen in other countries, and are now clearly seeing here, is that they're not staying just in the younger age groups, and moving up the age bands and the mortality rates will be similar to - slightly lower than they were previously - but they will be similar to what we saw previously."
He said mortality rates from Covid-19 were "significantly greater" than seasonal flu, which killed around 7,000 annually or 20,000 in a bad year.
Things 'will get better'
Despite Prof Whitty's prediction that the "seasons are against us" some experts believe that things "will get better".
Speaking to The Sun, Professor Karol Sikora said that we should carry on as normal by sticking to the rule of six.
"There is no need to panic or close schools unless we get into the same situation that we were in back in April.
"The only way we can progress is if we allow the virus to live with us".
He said officials need to recognise the people who are vulnerable to the virus and urge them to protect themselves.
Prof Sikora added that this doesn't mean making vulnerable people isolate again.
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"The vulnerable shouldn't be going shopping, they should be getting their relatives to do it.
"They can go for a walk or take their dogs out. Mental health will go down the tube if they have to isolate again".
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Data from the government suggests the epidemic is doubling every seven days.
Prof Whitty added that there was a need to "break unnecessary links" between households and there was a need to "change course".
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