Some coronavirus restrictions may have to be brought back to control the virus next winter, the chief medical officer has said.
Speaking at a Downing Street news conference, Professor Chris Whitty warned that the risks will continue to exist as the weather gets warmer, saying: "We shouldn't kid ourselves [that] this just disappears with spring."
He said: "If we did not do all the things all of us must now do, if people don't take the stay at home seriously, the risk at this point in time, in the middle of winter, with this new variant, is extraordinarily high."
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He said the risk level will gradually decrease over time with measures being "lifted by degrees possibly at different rates in different parts of the country, we'll have to see".
"We'll then get, over time, to a point where people say this level of risk is something society is prepared to tolerate and lift right down to almost no restrictions at all," he added.
But he went on to warn: "We might have to bring in a few in the next winter for example, that's possible, because winter will benefit the virus."
Professor Whitty added that the vaccine will help reduce the threat to society from the virus.
It will not be a case of deaths from COVID-19 dropping to zero, but rather there will be a manageable number of cases and deaths like the flu.
The professor said: "Roughly on an average year about 7,000 people a year die [from the flu]. In a bad year up to 20,000 people a year die.
"We accept there is a level of risk that society will tolerate - and we should tolerate.
"People die - that's one of the things that happens.
"And we have to [tolerate the risk] at a certain point."
He added: "Zero risk is not something which is a realistic possibility."
The warning came as the UK recorded more than 60,000 people testing positive for the coronavirus in a day for the first time.
Another 830 people died, according to the latest figures.
The rising numbers resulted in Prime Minister Boris Johnson sending England back into a full, national lockdown on Monday.
Mr Johnson announced that 1.3 million people in the UK - 1.1 million of whom are in England - have already received the coronavirus vaccine.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMieWh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2NvdmlkLTE5LXNvbWUtY292aWQtcmVzdHJpY3Rpb25zLWNvdWxkLXJldHVybi1uZXh0LXdpbnRlci1jaGllZi1tZWRpY2FsLW9mZmljZXItd2FybnMtMTIxODAxMzPSAX1odHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9hbXAvY292aWQtMTktc29tZS1jb3ZpZC1yZXN0cmljdGlvbnMtY291bGQtcmV0dXJuLW5leHQtd2ludGVyLWNoaWVmLW1lZGljYWwtb2ZmaWNlci13YXJucy0xMjE4MDEzMw?oc=5
2021-01-05 19:18:45Z
CBMieWh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2NvdmlkLTE5LXNvbWUtY292aWQtcmVzdHJpY3Rpb25zLWNvdWxkLXJldHVybi1uZXh0LXdpbnRlci1jaGllZi1tZWRpY2FsLW9mZmljZXItd2FybnMtMTIxODAxMzPSAX1odHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9hbXAvY292aWQtMTktc29tZS1jb3ZpZC1yZXN0cmljdGlvbnMtY291bGQtcmV0dXJuLW5leHQtd2ludGVyLWNoaWVmLW1lZGljYWwtb2ZmaWNlci13YXJucy0xMjE4MDEzMw
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