Neil Ferguson, one of the UK's most influential epidemiologists working on coronavirus response, resigned Tuesday to let a woman visit him at home after violating lockdown laws, the Telegraph first published.
The big picture: Models developed at Imperial College London by Ferguson and his team have warned that 250,000 people would die from coronavirus in the UK if the government fails to take drastic steps to curb the spread.
In the end, the forecasts led to the decision of Prime Minister Boris Johnson to lock up the country after initially ruling against it.
What he's saying: Ferguson told Telegraph Tuesday that he thought his own public demands for social distancing had been undermined.
“I accept I made an error of judgment and took the wrong course of action. I have therefore stepped back from my involvement in SAGE [Strategic Advisory Group of Experts]."
“I acted in the belief that I was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms."
“I deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing to control this devastating epidemic. The government guidance is unequivocal, and is there to protect all of us.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic as the new virus continues to spread rapidly to more than 121,000 people from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.
More cases of the virus, which causes respiratory disease COVID-19, continue to emerge, with outbreaks in South Korea, Italy, and Iran.
People across the globe partake in self-isolation for 14 days as an effective precautionary measure to protect those around them and themselves from contracting COVID-19.
Transmission of the virus between humans happens when someone comes into contact with an infected person’s secretions, such as droplets in a cough.
It can also be transmitted by coming into contact with something an infected person has touched and then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.
Research out of Wuhan, China, where this strain of the coronavirus is thought to have originated, shows the survival rate for COVID-19 patients with ARDS is slightly less than 50 percent, which is about 10 percent lower than the survival rate for ARDS from other causes.
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