Neil Ferguson, Doctor Behind Coronavirus Doomsday Imperial College Study, Revises Predictions
William Davis
Reporter
The doctor behind a U.K. college study that painted a doomsday scenario over the coronavirus pandemic now says he holds a more optimistic view about the spread in the U.K.
Renowned epidemiologist Neil Ferguson of the Imperial College suggested in his model last week the U.S. and the U.K. would have to continue to shut down for 18 months to avoid catastrophic death, but testified in front of the U.K’s Parliamentary select committee on science and technology earlier this week that he expects the country to be able to flatten the curve within 2-3 weeks. The Imperial College predicted that over 500,000 people could die in the U.K., and over two million could die in the U.S., but Ferguson said he now expects the death toll in Britain to be under 20,000, according to NewScientist.
Former New York Times reporter Alex Borenson called Ferguson’s revised predictions a “remarkable turn,” and noted that Ferguson himself has tested positive for the virus.
“The UK only began its lockdown 2 days ago, and the theory is that lockdowns take 2 weeks or more to work,” Borenson said. “Not surprisingly, this testimony has received no attention in the US – I found it only in UK papers. Team Apocalypse is not interested.”
1/ This is a remarkable turn from Neil Ferguson, who led the @imperialcollege authors who warned of 500,000 UK deaths – and who has now himself tested positive for #COVID; — Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) March 26, 2020
Ferguson has been advising U.K. leaders, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on their coronavirus response, and the Imperial College study is believed to have played a significant role in the strategy of both the U.S. and the U.K. Both nations have largely shut down their economy, and the results have already been devastating for millions of people.
More than 3 million Americans filed unemployment claims last week, shattering the previous record of 695,000. President Donald Trump has expressed a desire to re-open the American economy by Easter, saying he would “would love to have the country opened up” by then.
Read more: https://dailycaller.com/2020/03/26/neil-ferguson-coronavirus-imperial-college-doomsday/
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