Chris Whitty says winter could be ‘very difficult’ for NHS

Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, said the winter could be “very difficult” for the NHS.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference at which Boris Johnson confirmed that social distancing and mandatory mask-wearing will be scrapped in England from 19 July, Whitty said the winter “is inevitably going to be tricky.”

“This winter the NHS is likely to have both Covid and some resurgence of other respiratory viruses,” he said. “We should be realistic that this coming winter may be very difficult for the NHS.”