London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 01, 2025

COVID-19: Scientists warn against lifting lockdown too soon - 'virus always has mutation as a weapon'

COVID-19: Scientists warn against lifting lockdown too soon - 'virus always has mutation as a weapon'

The scientists say easing restrictions too soon could allow more sinister versions of the virus to escape and seed a new outbreak.

Scientists tracking the spread of COVID variants have warned against lifting lockdown too soon.

They caution that easing restrictions before daily cases are in "the low thousands" could allow more sinister versions of the virus to escape and seed a new outbreak.

In an exclusive interview, Steve Paterson, professor of genetics at Liverpool University, told Sky News: "The virus doesn't care that we want to meet our friends. It's going to find new ways to transmit or evade immunity.

Professor Paterson said the virus 'has always got mutation and evolution as a weapon'


"To give public health and the genome sequencing a chance to work out where the virus is mutating and where new variants are starting to spread, we really need that headroom of getting cases down before we can take our foot off the brake.

"That has to be in the low thousands per day.

"Otherwise, we'll end up with cases rising again, in a place where we don't want to be."

The rolling seven-day average of positive cases is currently around 12,000.


Professor Paterson's lab is part of COG-UK, a consortium of labs tracking the rise of new variants.

He said the Joint Biosecurity Centre is keeping a close eye on the outbreak in Bristol, where the more transmissible Kent variant has evolved again, adding the same mutation that helps the South African version of the virus evade the immune system.

There are more than 20 cases so far and surge testing is being carried out to try to identify anyone with the virus.

"A lot of resource is being put into monitoring to see whether it is increasing in frequency or not, and the data we get over the next week or two will really tell us that," said Prof Paterson.

New research shows how quickly the virus can mutate - inside the body of a patient with a chronic COVID infection


He said increasing immunity from a previous infection or from vaccination is putting the virus under pressure to mutate to survive.

"The virus has always got mutation and evolution as a weapon that it can use to counter what we're doing against it, so we have to continue to monitor its genetics.

"We will have to see whether evolution springs another surprise on us. It often does," said Prof Paterson.

New research, just published in the journal Nature, has shown how quickly the virus can mutate - inside the body of a patient with a chronic COVID infection.

Prof Ravi Gupta said that in a patient given plasma antibodies, the virus mutated in an attempt to avoid the treatment


Professor Ravi Gupta, a clinical microbiologist at Cambridge University, was involved in the treatment of a man with a poorly functioning immune system. Within days of being given plasma antibodies from a patient who had recovered from the disease, the virus mutated in an attempt to avoid the treatment.

"It was remarkable," he said.

"Within a week it had shifted its make-up. Billions and billions of virus particles had shifted."

Prof Gupta said what he witnessed - the first real-time study of the virus's evolution - had given him some insight to how new variants are incubated in some patients.

"In our individual, who became infected in the first wave in 2020, it took four months for that virus to evolve to a considerable extent," he said.

Scientists have warned against unlocking restrictions before daily cases were in 'the low thousands'


"If you look at the emergence of the UK Kent variant, the first sequences [of the new virus] were in September.

"That fits very nicely with an infection in the first wave, in April, giving the virus a few months to evolve and mutate, and then spill out into the community once it had acquired enough mutations to make it highly transmissible.

"The second wave started around September and that's possibly why we started detecting it in the community."

Prof Gupta said precautions should be taken when treating COVID infections in patients who have impaired immune systems.

"We need to have an eye on what the negative complications [of treatment] could be, do the relevant surveillance and administer their treatments in isolation rooms, not on open wards," he said.

"We shouldn't underestimate the virus. It will find novel ways around antibodies and immunity. It will make other mutations we can't necessarily predict."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
×