UK under pressure amid warning hospital cases may triple - Jamaica Gleaner

LONDON (AP) — The British government is under pressure to develop a national strategy to combat a surge of COVID-19 cases and “rescue Christmas” as scientists warn that the number of people hospitalised with the disease in the U.K.

Britain’s current measures are similar to those in France and Spain, where authorities are struggling to control the virus and daily cases have already far outstripped those in the U.K.

“With our current measures … there’s little evidence that there is as much social distancing as there was when we clamped down on the first wave and so we know that the risk is significant that cases will continue to grow,” Walport told the BBC.

Walport’s assessment came as two opposition parties called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to convene a summit of the U.K.’s four nations to develop a coordinated plan for combatting COVID-19.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said the four nations must develop a unified strategy to avoid confusion and deliver a clear message

“I think they need to have some action now … because otherwise, if we don’t get the virus back under control, I’m afraid there’s little chance of being able to rescue Christmas,” Davey told the BBC