‘Some restrictions to remain in UK until pandemic is over globally’

London, Jan 31 (SocialNews.XYZ) Some restrictions will have to remain in place in the UK until the Covid-19 pandemic is over globally, a British health expert has warned.

"We're still going to be living in some form of restrictions, travel restrictions, border controls, even when we're vaccinated, until it's over round the world," Xinhua news agency quoted Clare Wenham, assistant professor of global health policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, as saying to Sky News on Saturday.

Wenham said even once the whole British population had been vaccinated, the UK would still have to face threats posed by resistant coronavirus variants being brought in from outside.

"This pandemic isn't going to be over until it's over globally," Wenham was quoted by Sky News as saying.

The UK is stepping up its efforts to speed up the vaccine rollout to bring the pandemic under control.

More than 7.8 million people in the country have received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

It aims to deliver a first dose to 15 million of the most vulnerable by mid-February and to offer all adults their first dose by autumn.

"There's a real imperative to make sure that everybody round the world has at least minimum levels of vaccines at the same time," Wenham told Sky News.

"If we want to return to global systems of trade and travel we need to make sure that the vulnerable globally are vaccinated," she added.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country.

Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

As of Sunday morning, the overall number of coronavirus cases in the UK has increased to 3,806,993, the fourth highest infection tally in the world.

The country's death toll currently stands at 105,777, the fifth highest in the world.

Source: IANS