Coronavirus: Significant social distancing needed 'until vaccine DISCOVERED'

rof Ferguson, of Imperial College London, said easing the lockdown after another three weeks would depend on "how quickly case numbers go down". He said that required "a single-minded emphasis" in government and the health system on "scaling up testing and putting in place the ability to track down cases in the community and contact-trace".

Prof Ferguson added: "Without that, our estimates show we have relatively little leeway; if we relax measures too much then we'll see a resurgence of transmission. "What we really need is the ability to put something in their place. If we want to open schools, let people get back to work, then we need to keep transmission down in another manner. "And I should say, it's not going to be going back to normal. We will have to maintain some level of social distancing, a significant level of social distancing, probably indefinitely until we have a vaccine available."