UK government should consider extending school holidays and closing bars and restaurants to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed with new cases of Covid-19, a leading epidemiologist said on Tuesday.
Professor Neil Ferguson suggested that stopping households from mixing indoors was one way to limit the spread, while meeting outdoors remained relatively low risk.
The former government adviser, whose modelling triggered the country’s first lockdown, said cases were doubling every week in some areas with hospital admissions tracking the same path.
European governments face similar problems with Paris closing all bars and restaurants from today to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed. Similar measures were being introduced in Madrid, Spain.
“Admission to hospitals, hospital beds occupied with Covid patients and deaths are all tracking cases - they are at a lower level but they’re basically at doubling every two weeks,” Ferguson told the BBC. “We just cannot have that continuing indefinitely or the NHS [National Health Service] will be overwhelmed again.”
He stopped short on Tuesday of calling for schools and universities to close but said that alternative measures needed to be taken to limit contacts and reduce the impact on the NHS. “We have to accept in other areas we may have to give up more,” he said.
Mr Ferguson and his colleagues at Imperial College London were responsible for a modelling programme that warned of hundreds of thousands of deaths and influenced the UK’s decision to introduce a first lockdown on March 23. He has since said that half of those who died from Covid-19 in the UK could have survived if the lockdown had been introduced a week earlier.
He stepped down from his government role after breaking lockdown rules to meet his married lover.
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
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Neighbourhood Watch
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BRAZIL%20SQUAD
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Plastic tipping point
The%20US%20Congress%20explained
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
LOVE%20AGAIN
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1. |
United States |
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2. |
China |
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3. |
UAE |
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4. |
Japan |
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5 |
Norway |
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6. |
Canada |
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7. |
Singapore |
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8. |
Australia |
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9. |
Saudi Arabia |
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10. |
South Korea |
Tomorrow 2021
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
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