Experts today claimed that Britain must avoid an increase in Covid infection Christmas lockdown curbs due to its high caseload this summer.
Europe currently faces a new wave of Delta variant, which has caused nations to go back to draconian shutdowns. This raises fears about the UK.
But Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline that the UK was in a different position to its continental neighbours because it frontloaded infections earlier in the year.
Britain was repeatedly referred to as the “sick man” of Europe throughout the summer and fall. It consistently recorded the highest level of infection across the continent, despite having released all Covid curbs in July.
Although there was much criticism of the government and many calls for tighter controls, they remained calm and maintained that the best way to handle cases is in warmer months where the NHS is not under too much pressure.
Sir John Bell, an Oxford University professor and Government adviser, said that allowing the virus to rip earlier this year ‘has given us longer-term protection’ – as he urged Brits to ‘order that turkey, because it’ll all be fine.’
However, many experts argue that the epidemic is becoming increasingly unpredictable and Britain’s daily Covid cases have been rising after children returned from half-term at the start of the month.
Experts point out that the UK is growing faster than its European neighbors who have started to secure their homes again.
20% of Brits have been triple-jabbed. This is double what happened in Austria today, which was put into full lockdown, and three times as many in Germany where vaccinations will be compulsory.
Professor Chris Whitty also supported the relaxation of restrictions, warning that if curbs are kept in place it will likely delay or even prevent hospitalisations.
Although Covid cases in Britain have increased since half-term children were back, experts believe this will not lead to an unprecedented spike.
Britain became the’sickest man in Europe’ during the summer, as its Covid rate was higher than other countries. However, as Europe enters winter, other European nations are seeing an increase in their infection rates. UK testing is up to 10 times higher than EU neighboring countries, which increases the infection rate
This graph displays the percentage of Covid-vaccinated people in Western Europe who have had two doses. This graph shows that many European countries have a comparable jab-uptake rate to the UK.
Its booster drive is a step ahead of other continents. More than 20% of Brits now have a booster. This is nearly double what was available in Austria, and almost three times as much in Germany.
This graph displays the number of Europeans admitted to Covid hospitals per one million inhabitants. The graph shows that Belgium, the Netherlands and England are seeing a rise but remain flat in the UK. Because no data is available, Austria was not included in the graph.
This graph displays the number of Covid-related deaths per million. This graph shows that Austria and Belgium have begun to experience record-breaking surges in their virus incidences.
Professor Hunter told MailOnline: ‘I don’t think we are going to be seeing the sort of surge in cases much of Europe is experiencing.
Largely this is down to… quite the number of cases through the summer, and into October. This is more than in most countries.
“There were many people at risk, who have had this infection within the past few months, and who will be most likely to get it again if it happens again.
“Within Europe we are” [also] rolling out the booster faster than any others — although Austria is rapidly catching up with us.’
Although he said there were no signs that the UK will be hit by the flu this year, he warned that it might still return in January.
But the scientist warned infections in children and the AY.4.2 subvariant of Delta could trigger an uptick in cases — but not a major spike.
MailOnline reported that he could not see anything that would cause a surge in winter sales.
“A fair proportion of the younger children have not been jabbed yet but this might still be sufficient to produce a surge.
“The AY.4.2 version [also]It seems like things are moving up but not as quickly.
After its infected rate outpaced that of its continental neighbors, the UK became known as “the sick man” of Europe for several months.
The caseload in Autumn Britain was 458.5 cases per person. This is twice the Austrian rate, 4x the rate in Germany and 6x the rate in Spain.
The hospitalisations and deaths in this country also increased with four times as many admissions daily than those of Germany.
However, Ireland, Belgium, Belgium, and Austria all now have higher rates of infection than the UK. Germany is expected to surpass the UK in the next few days.
Austria has today declared a state of emergency due to low vaccination uptake. Some German countries are expected to do the same in coming days.
The UK is showing a comparable vaccine intake to the other countries, but there has not been a sudden increase in cases. This suggests that its summer high caseload has added protection.
However, the UK may have outperformed its European counterparts in terms of their fortunes.
Sir John encouraged Britons not to be anxious about Christmas. You might not be able to go skiing in Austria if things don’t work out.
He said that in those dark days of March and April 2020 everyone thought, “Oh, God! Aren’t they clever? They don’t have any Covid?” And, “Oh, my goodness, aren’t they dumb, because they’ve got so much Covid?”
“Actually, I don’t believe it’s quite worked out that way. It is possible that we have been protected longer term by the UK’s delay in locking down because of the very high level of disease.
Sir John also said that Britain may be benefiting from its high level of infection in this summer, which may be true.
He said, “They were much more careful about locking downs and keeping the virus away. Then they released.”
“They took the foot off of the accelerator a month ago, six weeks before there was any proper testing. It is possible to argue that this exposure in the second wave of the virus has paid off, as there are many people now who have natural infection.
BBC Breakfast: Professor Peter Openshaw (SAGE advisor) said that Britain can avoid certain measures in Europe right now.
A member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, (NERVTAG), stated that “The situation seems to have been really destabilised in certain parts of Europe due to misinformation about vaccines.
“I believe that in the UK we had an early vaccination campaign that was very successful and that saw very high vaccination rates among the vulnerable. However, this means that many people are now vaccinated and need boosters to increase their immunity and ensure that society is able to withstand the coming winter and Christmas season.
He stated that he was concerned by the very high transmission rates in the UK. Personal preference is to reduce these levels – although we all know masks can work. There are also people unvaccinated due to various reasons. We need to do more to decrease the spread of the virus and increase vaccination rates.
“No one measure alone is enough to make a difference; it takes a combination of all the measures. This includes third doses of vaccine, re-vaccination and wearing masks to ensure that the virus does not spread.
On July 19, England lifted virtually all Covid restrictions. Many restrictions were also relaxed in Scotland and Northern Ireland.