Britain could quickly beat coronavirus but needs at least another four weeks of intense lockdown, according to a professor who advised New Zealand on defeating the infection.
Michael Baker, a public health expert at the University of Otago, also told how New Zealand switched in the “nick of time” from following the US, UK and World Health Organisation on Covid-19 to adopt more successful Asian models.
He questioned why the UK lockdown was being eased at the same time a 14-day quarantine for arrivals had been imposed, arguing both were needed to “eliminate” the virus.
New Zealand’s premier Jacinda Ardern this week announced that almost all coronavirus restrictions were being lifted after no new cases of Covid-19 were reported for more than 14 days.
Prof Baker said this had been achieved with a ban on foreign arrivals, testing and contact tracing and an “intense lockdown”.
He told BBC radio: “In the nick of time we looked to Asia and we followed their models which was treating this more like a SARS virus.”
Britain is a far more densely-populated and more globally-connected than New Zealand.
The French government today revealed it is considering ending emergency measures on July 10 as new cases and deaths continue to fall.
