“This is the virus I fear the most”
British scientist leading coronavirus fight says it’s “not absurd” to forecast 400,000 UK fatalities as worldwide death toll surges past 1,500
Scientist Professor Neil Ferguson, of the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said 60 per cent of Britons could ‘potentially’ be affected by the virus, formally known as COVID-19
The British scientist leading the fight against coronavirus admitted last night that predictions of 400,000 UK deaths are ‘not absurd’.
Professor Neil Ferguson, of the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, revealed that ‘this is the one I’m scared of’ when asked about the killer coronavirus, which is causing increasing alarm all over the country.
However, he insisted he was not predicting 400,000 deaths, but was warning that the figure ‘is possible’. He said he would rather and adding that he’d ‘prefer to be accused of overreacting than under reacting’.
Research indicates that 60 per cent of Britons could be affected by the virus, formally known as COVID-19.
Professor Ferguson added: ‘Our best estimates at the moment is that maybe one per cent of people who get infected might die.’
It comes as it was revealed that the government is working on the assumption that half of the population will be infected with the virus, which could reach every part of Britain within months.
This would force intensive care units to make ‘hard choices’ about prioritising who to treat.
