UK in early stages of 3rd wave of coronavirus, warns scientist

An eminent Indian-origin scientist advising the British government has warned that there are signs that the UK is in the early stages of a third wave of coronavirus infections and urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to delay the planned June 21 reopening of the country by a few weeks, according to a media report on Monday.

Professor Ravi Gupta of the University of Cambridge, who is a member of the government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said although new cases were "relatively low" the B.1.617 variant of the COVID-19 had fuelled "exponential growth", the



BBC reported.

On Sunday, the UK reported more than 3,000 new COVID infections for a fifth day in a row. Prior to this, the UK had not surpassed that number since April 12.

Gupta also called on Prime Minister Johnson to delay the planned June 21 reopening of the country by “a few weeks”.

The UK's overall COVID-19 caseload and death toll currently stood at 4,499,939 and 128,043, respectively.

Prof Gupta said the UK was already in a third wave of infections.