East Derry MP Gregory Campbell questions 100,000 coronavirus deaths projection pointing to 3,000+ fatalities in hard hit China

The East Derry MP suggested the death toll would likelier be much lower during an intervention in the British House of Commons on Tuesday.

He cited the case of China were more than 3,000 people have died since the coronavirus illness first appeared in Wuhan in December.

“Let us try to keep a sense of perspective. Last weekend, Government sources indicated that the worst-case scenario would be 100,000 deaths due to the current virus outbreak,” said the DUP representative in the House of Commons.

He asked the British Health Minister Matt Hancock if the projection was reasonable.

“Given that China has reported just over 3,000 deaths and that it has been at the epicentre of the virus for 10 weeks but has a population 20 times greater than the United Kingdom, was the 100,000 figure a helpful reference?” asked Mr. Campbell.

The UK Health Secretary replied: “Of course we have to plan for a reasonable worst-case scenario, but we are working incredibly hard to avoid it.

“The Chinese Government undertook some very significant actions, and it is not yet clear whether the impact of those actions was to slow the spread such that when those actions are lifted the spread will continue, or whether the virus has in effect gone through the population of Hubei.

“We do not yet know that, so it is not yet possible to interpret the epidemiological consequences of the deaths figure in China.”