British scientist leading coronavirus fight says forecasts for 400,000 UK deaths are ‘not absurd’ amid rising panic #nCoV2019 #COVID19 #coronavirus #uk #wuhan #china #emergency #epidemic
The British scientist leading the fight against coronavirus said forecasts of 400,00 UK deaths are ‘not absurd’ amid rising panic.
Scientist Professor Neil Ferguson, of the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, spoke today about NHS research that indicates 60 per cent of Britons could ‘potentially’ be affected by the virus, formally known as COVID-19.
In a televised interview, Prof Ferguson referred to current research which estimates one per cent of the population could die from the illness.
One per cent of the UK population is 400,000 people this relates to.
This number is ‘not absurd’, according to Prof Ferguson.
Prof Ferguson said: ‘Potentially. Given we know a lot about how these viruses are spread we have lots of data from past epidemics.
‘Given how transmissible this virus appears to be and that fact that at least all adults can be infected, we have much less data in children, then 60 percent is a reasonable figure.
‘Within the first 12 months or so. What we don’t know at the moment is if everybody infected. What proportion might die and what are the risk groups? Our best estimates at the moment is that maybe 1 per cent of people who get infected might die.’
One per cent of the UK population is 400,000 people. Choosing not to rely on the mathematics, the professor said it would be unwise to throw numbers around at present, but added that it wasn’t ‘absurd’.
‘I would much prefer to be accused of overreacting than under reacting,’ he told a Channel 4 documentary on the virus.
‘This virus is the one which probably concerns me the most out of everything I’ve worked on.’
Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk
UK weather warning: 65 FOOT waves recorded as Storm Dennis rages towards Britain #WeatherWarning #StormDennis #waves #uk #Ireland
65-foot waves have spotted moving towards Britain (Image: Twitter/GETTY)
ENORMOUS 65-foot waves have been spotted moving towards Britain as Storm Dennis is set to descend on the UK this weekend.
This afternoon the National Coastal Modelling & Forecasting Manager for the Environmental agency tweeted: “This morning’s altimetry data from the Sentinel satellite pass over the North Atlantic showing wave heights up to 64.52 ft!” Storm Dennis is the latest chaotic weather system to make a bee-line for the UK, as it prepares to batter the country this weekend with gale-force winds and heavy rain.
This morning the Met Office issued a warning that said: “Strong winds in association with Storm Dennis are expected on Saturday and Sunday across many parts of England and Wales.
“The strongest winds are likely to be on Saturday afternoon and evening, with a lull for a time overnight, before increasing again during early Sunday.
“Gusts of 50mph are expected inland.
“Around the coasts, especially in the west and south, gusts of 60 to 70mph are likely.
“The strong winds will be accompanied by heavy rain at times, leading to particularly poor driving conditions.”
Storm Dennis is the fourth named storm of the 2019/20 Atlantic Storm season, and closely follows Storm Ciara which impacted the UK last weekend.
The Met Office has issued weather warnings that span the entire country – however, some places may see the worst of the weather.
The meteorologists added regarding Storm Dennis in a separate statement: “Spells of heavy and prolonged rain are expected to affect parts of England and Wales over the weekend with a higher likelihood of impacts now expected in some areas.
“Around 0.78 to 1.57 inches (20 to 40mm) of rain will fall widely with 1.96 to 3.14 inches (50 to 80mm) likely across parts of northern and southern England.
“Over the higher ground of Wales 3.93 to 4.72 inches (100 to 120mm) of rain is possible in a few locations.
“This rain is expected to fall across areas already wet from recent rainfall.”
Courtesy of express.co.uk
MAGNITUDE 4.8 CRETE, GREECE #earthquake #crete #greece
Depth: 13 km
Distances: 294 km S of İzmir, Turkey / pop: 2,501,000 / local time: 19:02:18.4 2020-02-14
171 km E of Irákleion, Greece / pop: 138,000 / local time: 18:02:18.4 2020-02-14
129 km NE of Ágios Nikólaos, Greece / pop: 10,800 / local time: 18:02:18.4 2020-02-14
38 km NW of Kárpathos, Greece / pop: 2,300 / local time: 18:02:18.4 2020-02-14
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MAGNITUDE 2.9 QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA #earthquake #queensland #australia
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 1169 km S of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea / pop: 284,000 / local time: 00:04:22.6 2020-02-15
947 km NW of Brisbane, Australia / pop: 959,000 / local time: 00:04:22.6 2020-02-15
50 km E of Bowen, Australia / pop: 11,000 / local time: 00:04:22.6 2020-02-15
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MAGNITUDE 3.4 NEAR COAST OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA #earthquake #australia
Depth: 6 km
Distances: 235 km N of Adelaide, Australia / pop: 1,075,000 / local time: 00:19:15.6 2020-02-15
17 km N of Peterborough, Australia / pop: 1,700 / local time: 00:19:15.6 2020-02-15
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MAGNITUDE 2.5 NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA #earthquake #NewSouthWales #australia
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 214 km W of Sydney, Australia / pop: 4,395,000 / local time: 00:43:59.6 2020-02-15
131 km NW of Katoomba, Australia / pop: 18,600 / local time: 00:43:59.6 2020-02-15
13 km N of Orange, Australia / pop: 40,000 / local time: 00:43:59.6 2020-02-15
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MAGNITUDE 3.1 ICELAND REGION #earthquake #Iceland
Depth: 4 km
Distances: 40 km SW of Reykjavík, Iceland / pop: 114,000 / local time: 08:26:08.0 2020-02-14
4 km N of Grindavík, Iceland / pop: 2,600 / local time: 08:26:08.0 2020-02-14
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MAGNITUDE 5.5 PACIFIC-ANTARCTIC RIDGE #earthquake #pacific #antarctic
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 3499 km SE of Wellington, New Zealand / pop: 382,000 / local time: 18:59:00.1 2020-02-14
4188 km S of Avarua, Cook Islands / pop: 13,400 / local time: 19:59:00.1 2020-02-13
4382 km S of Papeete, French Polynesia / pop: 26,400 / local time: 19:59:00.1 2020-02-13
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