Medical experts warned the British government to prepare for the “real risk” of a coronavirus second wave just a day after the biggest lifting yet of lockdown restrictions in England, according to AFP.

“While the future shape of the pandemic in the UK is hard to predict, the available evidence indicates that local flare-ups are increasingly likely and a second wave a real risk,” said the experts in an open letter printed in the British Medical Journal.

The letter added that the overriding task was “to ensure that the country is adequately prepared to contain a second phase”.