Chief scientist admits they still do not know when coronavirus will peak in UK

The deputy chief medical officer has confirmed that the government are unsure when the peak of the coronavirus crisis in the UK will be.
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In Friday’s press conference from Downing Street, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam also said he expects it will be a few months before results are achieved through clinical trials.

Speaking on when the peak of the epidemic is expected to be, he said: “We don't know the answer to that yet.

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"We've always said that we will know if our social distancing measures are working a few weeks after we've put them in place."

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor, Jonathan Van-Tam - Pippa Fowles/Crown Copyright/10 Downing Street/PA WireDeputy Chief Medical Officer Professor, Jonathan Van-Tam - Pippa Fowles/Crown Copyright/10 Downing Street/PA Wire
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor, Jonathan Van-Tam - Pippa Fowles/Crown Copyright/10 Downing Street/PA Wire

He reiterated it was "too soon to say", adding: "It'll partly depend upon how well those social distancing measures are adhered to by every one of us.

"I hope it will be soon. We're going to watch very carefully to see when we've hit the peak and when we're starting to turn it but we will not take any premature actions."

Addressing whether the NHS will have enough ventilators during the peak, given some fear they will not receive the critical care they need, Professor Van-Tam expressed confidence in equipment supplies.

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He said: "I can tell you I don't think we're anywhere close to that kind of scenario at the moment. We will watch it extremely closely and we will make decisions as we need to on a day-by-day basis."

He said: "I know that there will be a question about when are we going to get some results from these clinical trials.

"And my straight answer to you is I don't know. I think it's going to be a few months but it will all depend on how quickly patients are recruited into the trials across the NHS.

"The faster we go in getting bigger numbers in the trials, the clearer and more emphatic and more granular signals we will get about what works and who it works for."