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Health leaders warn UK must prepare for second wave

Concern over local Covid awareness

Health leaders warn UK must prepare for second wave

After the prime minister’s lockdown restriction lifts announcement yesterday, UK health leaders have called for a “rapid and forward-looking assessment” of how prepared the nation would be for a second coronavirus outbreak.

An open letter has been published in the British Medical Journal.

The letter warns ministers that urgent action would be needed to prevent further losses.

The presidents of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, Nursing, Physicians, and GPs have signed the letter.

The chair of the British Medical Association has also backed the letter.

They wrote:

“While the future shape of the pandemic in the UK is hard to predict, the available evidence indicates that local flare-ups are increasingly likely and a second wave a real risk,”

“Many elements of the infrastructure needed to contain the virus are beginning to be put in place, but substantial challenges remain.”

The letter also urged ministers to set up a cross-party group with a “constructive, non-partisan, four nations approach”, tasked with developing practical recommendations.

“The review should not be about looking back or attributing blame,” they said, and should focus on “areas of weakness where action is needed urgently to prevent further loss of life and restore the economy as fully and as quickly as possible”.

The Department of Health have said that it will continue to be guided by the latest scientific advice and would give the NHS “whatever it needs”.

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