Coronavirus: People should ‘hesitate’ before rush back to the office, says Professor Neil Ferguson

Former scientific adviser calls for caution amid surge in cases

Professor Ferguson is credited with convincing the government to adopt initial lockdown (PA)

Former government adviser Professor Neil Ferguson said people should “hesitate” at the “headlong rush to get everybody back into offices” as coronavirus cases rise sharply across the UK.

“The case number increases we've seen in the last two weeks, do not yet account for the reopening of schools. So undoubtedly that may increase transmission still further and there may be a need therefore to reduce contacts in other settings,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today.

Professor Ferguson said he was still working from home, and cautioned: “Certainly I think we should hesitate and maybe pause at the headlong rush to get everybody back into offices.

”But some people have to work and I completely understand the concerns in many quarters that everybody working at home has an economic impact, particularly on city centres.“

The comments from Professor Ferguson, a former government adviser whose work is credited with convincing Downing Street to impose the initial lockdown back in March, come as workers are being encouraged to return to the office. 

The government’s back-to-work drive has hinged on warnings about the economy which critics have said are unlikely to prove all that encouraging for many people worried about the resurgent virus.

Speaking shortly after Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said “the economy needs to have people back at work,” London mayor Sadiq Khan called the government’s efforts “counterproductive”.

“We must be honest that the health and economic crises caused by this pandemic are interlinked and cannot be separated. The truth is, as long as social distancing rules are in place, there is a limit to how many people can safely return to workplaces," Mr Khan said.

"Londoners aren’t stupid, they read about the rising number of cases across Europe and predictions that a second wave here in the UK could be even worse than the first," he added.

Alex Brazier, director for financial stability at the Bank of England, previously cast doubt on the government’s drive, saying: “It's not possible to bring lots of people back very suddenly.”

“We should expect a more phased return,” Mr Brazier told the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee.

“I feel safe coming to work, but I quite understand why many people might not.

“It's not possible to use office space, particularly in central London and dense places like that, with the intensity that we used to use it."

Though the government’s back-to-work drive has not yet resulted in any mass return, many employers have begun planning to bring staff back into the office, including banking giant Goldman Sachs where staff were told on Wednesday that they would soon be informed of a plan for allowing their return. 

The memo to staff sent by CEO David Solomon pointedly did not say staff would be required to return, saying rather that plans would give “an opportunity” to get back into the office.