Leading scientist who warned 260,000 Brits could die from the coronavirus if the Government didn’t take drastic action admits he has a persistent cough and high fever – tell-tale signs of the killer infection
- Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London, said he is self-isolating
- The virus expert revealed in a tweet that he has a cough and a high fever
- He has been working non-stop with a team of experts to help the Government
- 1,950 coronavirus cases have been officially diagnosed in the UK
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
One of the Government’s top coronavirus experts believes he has contracted the virus, he revealed on Twitter this morning.
Professor Neil Ferguson, an Imperial College London virus expert who has been advising UK officials for two months, said he is now in self-isolation.
In a tweet posted on Wednesday morning he said: ‘Sigh. Developed a slight dry but persistent cough yesterday and self isolated even though I felt fine. Then developed high fever at 4am today. There is a lot of COVID-19 in Westminster.’
Professor Ferguson was one of the main authors of a landmark scientific paper published this week which led to the Government ramping up its action plan.
His projection that 260,000 people could have died if officials hadn’t announced social distancing measures was one of the driving forces behind Britain’s current situation.
Professor Neil Ferguson, an Imperial College London expert who has been advising the Government on coronavirus for months, now believes he has the virus
Speaking BBC Radio 4 this morning, Professor Ferguson said: ‘So I got a slight cough, actually while I was being interviewed by you [BBC Radio 4] yesterday.
‘In the abundance of caution, I self-isolated then so I’m stuck in my flat on my own for seven days in central London.
‘Then at four o’clock in the morning I got a high fever, which is somewhat better now but I still feel fairly grotty.
‘I’ve been in so many meetings in the last few weeks, and a number of my colleagues from other universities who have been advising the government in those meetings have also developed symptoms.’