The UK’s COVID-19 alert level should be upgraded from level three to level four, meaning transmission of the virus is high or rising exponentially, the four nations’ chief medical officers have said.
In a statement, the chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said: “After a period of lower COVID cases and deaths, the number of cases are now rising rapidly and probably exponentially in significant parts of all four nations.
“If we are to avoid significant excess deaths and exceptional pressure in the NHS and other health services over the autumn and winter everyone has to follow the social distancing guidance, wear face coverings correctly and wash their hands regularly.
“We know this will be a concerning news for many people; please follow the rules, look after each other and together we will get through this.”
The alert level was at level three but could now move to level four
Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, Dr Gregor Smith, Scotland’s chief medical officer, Dr Michael McBride, Northern Ireland’s chief medical officer, and Dr Chris Jones, deputy chief medical officer for Wales, took the action after a recommendation by the government’s Joint Biosecurity Centre.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the creation of the Joint Biosecurity Centre – and a five-tier alert system to rank the threat from coronavirus – in May this year.
The coronavirus alert level has been at three since the middle of June, when it was lowered from its previous level of four following a steady decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases.
The five levels are:
Level 5 – The highest on the scale, this indicates there is a “material risk” of the NHS being overwhelmed.
Level 4 – This means the COVID-19 epidemic “is in general circulation” and the “transmission is high or rising exponentially”.
Level 3 – While this level also suggests the epidemic is “in general circulation”, it omits the statement “transmission is high or rising exponentially”. The alert level was lowered to level three in June and came amid the relaxation of some restrictions.
Level 2 – To shift to this level, the government guidance says the virus would be present in the UK, but that the number of cases and transmission is low. It says this would then allow “no or minimal social-distancing measures”, but with enhanced “testing, tracing, monitoring and screening”.
Level 1 – This would indicate “COVID-19 is not known to be present in the UK”. The guidance suggests the only action required at this stage would be “routine international monitoring”.