UK at ‘pre-peak stage of third wave’, warn scientific advisers

Scientists have advised that the UK is seeing the “pre-peak stage of a third wave,” says first minister Mark Drakeford. He further commented by saying that eight out of ten cases in Wales are the Delta variant. “In just a few weeks, the Delta variant has entered Wales and spread quickly throughout the country,” he said. “There is a sustained and accelerating pattern of transmission, not just in the north and southeast of Wales but in all parts of the country. [caption id="attachment_276873" align="alignnone" width="2048"] First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford speaks during a press conference at the Welsh Government building in Cathays Park on June 7/Via Getty[/caption] “That means that we are, once again, facing a serious public health situation. Our scientific advisers believe the United Kingdom is now at the pre-peak stage of a third wave of this pandemic. “Wales may be two to three weeks behind what is happening in England and in Scotland, where tens of thousands of cases have been confirmed, where there is widespread transmission and reports of increased hospital admissions as well.” He expressed that Wales will also be pausing plans to relax lockdown restrictions, following in the same direction as Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon. “A four-week delay could help to reduce the peak number of daily hospital admissions by up to half,” Mr Drakeford said. The Delta variant continues to be a cause of concern amongst MP’s and the scientific community.