Health officials warn of new Covid-19 'flare-ups' in UK

Warning comes after Boris Johnson announces emergence from ‘national hibernation’

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has cleared the way for the reopening of restaurants and hotels on July 4 despite Covid-19 fears. Reuters

Senior health officials have warned that a second wave of Covid-19 is a real risk in Britain after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to reopen restaurants and hotels.

The UK has suffered the highest number of deaths in Europe with more than 43,000 and faces a 14 per cent cut in growth if there is a second surge, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned earlier this month.

"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," the heads of medical organisations warned in a letter in the British Medical Journal.

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

The signatories included Martin Marshall, the chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, who told the BBC that the concerns came after other countries had dealt with the virus differently and perhaps better.

The government said on Tuesday that pubs, restaurants, cinemas and hotels would begin to reopen from July 4 after the biggest

easing of the coronavirus lockdown in England.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said fears of a second wave had led to the balanced and “cautious” steps to return the UK to normal.

“That’s why we’re taking carefully calibrated steps rather than giant leaps,” he told the BBC.