doctor saskia popescu, thank you so much. face coverings in england, encouraging their use in confined spaces, like shops. at the moment masks are only mandatory on public transport, but the british prime minister says the scientific advice on masks has now shifted. he also urged people to go back to work if they can, instead of working from home. 0ur science editor, david shukman has the story. the message is obvious, when the prime minister is pictured in a mask. it means you can expect new rules in england for where you have to cover your face — no longerjust on public transport. we need to be stricter in insisting that people wear face coverings in confined places. we're looking at ways of making sure that people really do have face coverings in shops, for instance, where, you know, there is a risk of transmission. hello! the pressure has been building for a change. the chancellor, rishi sunak, was widely criticised for not covering his face earlier in the week at this photo opportunity. and scotland is already going furt

saskia popescu is an epidemiologist, and specicialist in infection prevention working in one of the epicentrest us outbreak, phoenix arizona. thank outbreak, phoenix arizona. you very much for com good thank you very much for coming on. good to see you. we've heard from the world health organisation, they are still many scientific questions to be answered. what are some of those questions that concern you the most? i think right now what we're most? i think right now what we're most concerned about most curious about there's two really big things. long—term immunity and what that means and how long people will have immunity following infection and ultimately come effects. we do know that people are having prolong symptoms. whether that's a loss of sense of smell there's also some neurological things coming out. we wa nted neurological things coming out. we wanted new mac know the long—term implications that a prolonged symptoms or physiological response that might not be indicative of a current infection but something people are going to have to deal with potentially months after their infecti

earlier i spoke to saskia popescu — an expert in infection prevention working in one the centres of theona. i asked her what are the most pressing unanswered questions regarding the virus... i think right now what we're most concerned about most curious about, there's two really big things. long—term immunity and what that means and how long people will have immunity following infection and ultimately long—term effects. we do know that people are having prolong symptoms. whether that's a loss of sense of smell, there's also some neurological things coming out. we wanted know the long—term implications or prolonged symptoms or physiological response that might not be indicative of a current infection but something people are going to have to deal with potentially months after their infection. you are in arizona, which has become a coronavirus hotspot. you've been saying that it didn't have to become a hotspot. what do you think has gone wrong in your opinion? unfortunately i think arizona has been a great case study for fragmented approaches. and premature and rapid reopening. states reo

saskia popescu is a hospital epidemiologist. she also serves on a coronavirus task force.ened so quickly and so early. unfortunately arizona was one of the last states to do closing measures and one of the first reopened, and unfortunately now what we are seeing is hospital that 90% capacity, one out of every five patients hospitalised has coronavirus positive, and resulting in hospitalisation, but also today actually the city morgue reported they are 97% full, so so much of this is premature opening, rapid reopening and people rushing out to go to bars and restaurants — you have seen some of those videos. a lot of the messaging coming from leadership both national and state is that we were passed coronavirus, and state is that we were past coronavirus, and that really gives people not a lot of motivation really to maintain infection control measures. from what i have red about restrictions or lack of restrictions in arizona, restaurants and casinos have remained open. was there any scientific logic for giving some businesses open and others closed? i can't speak to the ca