Four graphs that show the effect of social distancing in the UK

Those who tuned into the government’s daily press conference were given a glimpse of what will come to pass if Boris Johnson has to take a break from his duties as a result of his coronavirus diagnosis. The government’s ‘designated survivor’ Dominic Raab led the conference – providing an update on Foreign Office efforts to bring Brits stranded abroad back home. A £75 million fund has been set up with the aim of bringing tens of thousands home. 

However, the main update came from Chief Scientific Officer Patrick Vallance who gave a presentation on the effect social distancing has had in the UK so far through four graphs. Vallance said there had been promising signs when it comes to slowing transmission of the virus. While Vallance was reluctant to put a time stamp on how long social distancing measures could be in place in the UK, he did suggest that the peak of infections could be two to three weeks away rather than a previous estimate of mid-May:

‘What I’ve said recently is that we expect this to get worse over the next couple of weeks because there is a lag phase between getting the disease and people turning up in hospital.