19th June, 2020
Chief medical officers in the United Kingdom have agreed that the COVID-19 threat level should be lowered one notch to “epidemic is in general circulation” from “transmission is high or rising exponentially”.
The Joint Biosecurity Centre recommended that the COVID-19 alert level should move from Level 4 (A COVID-19 epidemic is in general circulation; transmission is high or rising exponentially) to Level 3 (A COVID-19 epidemic is in general circulation).
“There has been a steady decrease in cases we have seen in all four nations, and this continues,” the chief medical officers of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland said.
“It does not mean that the pandemic is over.
“Coronavirus is still in general circulation, and localised outbreaks are likely to occur,” they said.
Recently, Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, told the press that “it looks as though we’re now approaching the fast growth part of the upward curve.
“And without drastic action, cases could double every five or six days”.
The consistent doubling of cases in a fixed period is the hallmark of exponential growth.