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What should a second coronavirus lockdown look like in Europe?

By Adam Vaughan

30 September 2020

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Coronavirus public information messages in Manchester, UK

Jon Super/AP/Shutterstock

IT IS no shock that many European countries are again facing rising coronavirus cases – this is exactly what researchers anticipated. Modelling in March by Mark Woolhouse at the University of Edinburgh, UK, suggested that a two-month UK lockdown would lead to low cases and an imperceptible rise over the summer before new measures were required at the end of September. Which is roughly what happened. Other models foresaw similar patterns. “I’m not claiming a prediction, but it’s a scenario that was predictable,” says Woolhouse.

The speed and size of the wave…

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