UK’s Chief Medical Officer Whitty: Critical point in pandemic, very challenging winter ahead

British Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty is expected to ring alarm over the UK’s coronavirus (COVID-19) conditions during his 10:00 GMT speech on Monday, per Reuters’ piece published during the early Asian session.

Key quotes

The trend in the UK is heading in the wrong direction and we are at a critical point in the pandemic.

We are looking at the data to see how to manage the spread of the virus ahead of a very challenging winter period.

More than 40,000 people in Britain have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in March, the highest number in Europe.

Health minister Matt Hancock on Sunday warned the country was at a tipping point, saying that people must follow rules on self-isolating or face the imposition of further lockdown measures. The government announced large fines for non-compliance.

Hancock has refused to rule out another national lockdown - something which Johnson has said would have disastrous consequences for the economy - and said officials were meeting to decide how best to handle the rising cases in London.

FX implications

GBP/USD refrains from respecting the virus woes amid hopes of further stimulus from the Tory government as well as mild optimism concerning Brexit. That said, the Cable seesaws around 1.2935 by the press time.