Two of the UK government’s leading scientific advisers say thousands of deaths from coronavirus could be avoided before Christmas if a two week “circuit breaker” lockdown is imposed over the school half-term break, an intervention that puts new pressure on Boris Johnson to order tougher restrictions.
Graham Medley, who sits on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, and Matt Keeling, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, will release their findings in a joint paper on Wednesday.
They say thousands of deaths — between 3,000 and as many as 107,000 — could be avoided by January if a national lockdown is imposed over the October break.