'We'd all benefit' from circuit-breaker lockdown, says infectious diseases expert

The Government's latest approach to tackling the spread of Covid-19 in Englandcould lead to a continuing increase in infections, while a circuit-breakerlockdown would benefit everyone, according to an expert in infectious diseasesand vaccines.

Prof Paul Kellam, professor of virus genomics at ImperialCollege London, said the virus would continue to spread while authoritiesdebated which of the Government's lockdown tiers should apply to differentareas.

Prof Kellam is among a number of clinicians calling for a short'circuit-breaker' lockdown to quickly suppress the virus's spread.

Speaking tothe PA news agency, Prof Kellam said: "The longer you debate which tier you'rein, the more infection is actually happening at that time.

The virus isn'tstopping to wait whilst people decide what the right tier is.

"We run the riskthat by trying to balance saving lives, protecting the NHS and saving theeconomy at the same time, that we end up doing neither of those, and we end upin a state of not being able to achieve any of our aims."