UK may become Europe’s worst-hit COVID-19 country, warns expert

UK could end up being one of worst-hit European countries in coronavirus pandemic, a senior scientific viser to government warned on Sunday.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome Trust who sits on British government’s scientific visory committee S, said Britain is facing highest death toll in region as furr waves of dely virus cant be ruled out.

“ numbers in UK have continued to go up. I do hope we are coming close to number of new infections reducing. But yes UK is likely to be one of worst if t worst affected country in Europe,” Farrar told BBC.

As of Saturday, death toll in UK stands at 9,875, increasing rapidly day on day. death toll in neighbouring European countries stands at 19,468 in Italy – among worst-hit countries in world, and Germany at 2,871.

Farrar said that Germany h introduced testing at a “remarkable” rate which helped it gain a “critical six to eight weeks” to prepare its health system for pandemic.

“It is still early in this epidemic. What is critical for Germany is y continue that testing and isolation. Inevitably UK will learn lessons from how Germany has mand to control epidemic to date,” he said.

In reference to remarks, UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma stressed that countries were on "different trajectories" and reiterated that strict social distancing measures will have an impact on death toll curve.

"Different countries are at different sts of this cycle. What we have done with vice that we have w set out to people, to stay at home, is precisely because we want to make sure that we have a flattening of curve, that infection rates aren't going up, and ultimately people's lives are being saved," he said.

senior Indian-origin Cabinet minister was also forced to apologise for persistent concerns within UK’s National Health Service (NHS) over lack of sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) for its staff to be able to treat highly infectious dely virus.

“I’m incredibly sorry that people feel y are t able to get this equipment. It's self-evident that we need more PPE," he said.

His apology came a day after a leing doctors’ union, British Medical Association (BMA), h highlighted short of crucial equipment on NHS frontlines which was putting medics' lives at risk.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, Indian-origin BMA Council Chair, said: “We are dealing with an unkwn, highly-infectious, and potentially dely virus that has alrey claimed lives of several healthcare workers, including 11 doctors in UK.

“It is absurd that people trained to treat this disease are ones who are t being appropriately protected – and without m, we face real disaster.”

It led to pledges by government to continue its focus on driving PPE supplies to frontlines.