Swindon should expect a surge in Covid-19 cases as the country comes out of lockdown, its health boss said. 

Boris Johnson said most scientists were “firmly of the view” there would be a third wave of the disease at some point this year. 

And the town’s director of public health Steve Maddern echoed the sentiments shared by the prime minister in a press conference.

He said: “We have to expect that we’ll see that surge in cases as we come out of lockdown. 

“I think the prime minister has been quite clear that we are on a very strong trajectory to meet the requirements of the roadmap. 

“For us, as we move into a new era for how we live alongside Covid, we are going to be in a community where Covid will remain prevalent. 

“The key thing for us is that through vaccination people are less likely to pass that on and if they have it, then it is less likely to be severe and less likely to lead to premature death.”

Mr Maddern stressed the importance of protecting the health and social care system in the eventuality of a third wave.

He added: “The thing for us is very much around continual monitoring of the hospitals.

The key thing is that the vaccine programme remains on schedule and that we don’t see any impact from the community going into the hospital. 

“What Covid taught us across the last year is that it will always throw curve balls at us and we need to be prepared for that. 

“So, I think at this moment in time, yes, we probably do expect a surge in cases but as long as we can protect our health and social care system and protect those vulnerable people in our communities, then that the key thing for us going forward.”

Mr Maddern said the current data is not troubling him. The borough’s seven-day rolling infection rate was 29.7 cases per 100,000 people on Saturday, compared to the south west average of 14.7 and England’s average of 24.5. 

“We’re in a good place," he said. "Although our case rate is slightly higher than the rest of the south west, we’re not seeing that impact on the hospital. 

"The hospital feels like it’s in a good place at this moment in time and we have to continue to monitor that.

“As people start to find the new normal, we will see potential flux in cases, but the cases are still low compared to what we saw in early 2021.

“There’s nothing of great concern. But Covid hasn’t gone away, so people still need to comply with the ‘hand, face, space’ messaging.”