Boris Johnson is letting the UK drift toward a 2nd coronavirus wave with thousands more avoidable deaths, according to Britain's former science chief

• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is risking the country drifting into a second wave of coronavirus infections that could result in thousands of avoidable deaths, a former chief science adviser has warned.
• David King, who wrote on behalf of the Independent SAGE group of leading scientists, said there was "no evidence that the government has a considered strategy for the next stages of handling the pandemic in the UK."
• Johnson has lifted many social-distancing measures in recent weeks to try to invigorate the economy.
• His approach, which applies mainly to England, contrasts with that of Scotland, where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says eliminating the virus entirely is the government's "overriding priority."

A former UK chief science adviser says the country is heading for a second wave of coronavirus infections that could result in thousands of avoidable deaths, a warning that comes with official data indicating the rate of transmission has risen in recent weeks.

As Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the public on Friday that they should return to their offices starting in August, David King — who was the UK's chief science adviser until 2007 — said in an open letter that there was "no evidence that the government has a considered strategy for the next stages of handling the pandemic in the UK."

King leads the Independent SAGE committee, a working group of scientists who offer alternative advice to SAGE, the committee that formally reports to Downing Street.

His letter on behalf of the group added: "Our fear is that if the government does not revise its approach, we could see thousands of unnecessary and avoidable deaths and continued economic stasis."

Johnson has begun to lift social-distancing measures quickly in recent weeks to try to invigorate the economy and said Friday that all remaining lockdown measures could be lifted as early as November.

But while the number of daily coronavirus deaths has fallen consistently, the number of cases appears to have flatlined, with reports even suggesting that the number of cases may already be rising again.

Data from King's College London's COVID Symptom Tracker — a contact-tracing app cited in a Mirror report — indicates that the UK averaged 2,103 coronavirus cases a day last week, up from 1,400 the previous week. While the app's data is not comprehensive, and could yet mark a temporary fluctuation, it was a stark increase.

King instead urged Downing Street to pursue a "Zero COVID" strategy in which it enforced social-distancing measures for long enough to eliminate the virus entirely, as New Zealand has done.

Johnson's approach — which in practice is adopted most in England — contrasts with that of Scotland, where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says eliminating the virus entirely is the government's "overriding priority."

Scotland recorded just 11 new cases on Thursday and has recorded just one coronavirus death in the past eight days.