COVID restrictions – including the rule of six – must remain in place until at least the end of the year, a SAGE expert has warned.

Weary Brits could face tough laws to combat the spread of the virus until 2022, with the potential for less restrictive curbs to last "forever," Professor John Edmunds said.

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The warning will be a blow to weddings and sports events and came as No10 advisers said Covid cases must drop from 750,000 to 10,000 before lockdown can lift.

Prof Edmunds delivered his grim forecast after being asked if the rule of six should remain until at least the end of the year.

Speaking to Robert Peston on ITV, Prof Edmunds said: "I think we're going to have to be under some restrictions for some time.

"Again, it depends on the rapidity of the vaccine rollout.

"If you think about what the Government have said, their ambition is to offer all adults a vaccine dose by September I think.

"But the second dose that is being offered – certainly for AstraZeneca it looks like it's better to give it after about three months, so we would be getting our second dose in the late autumn, or the autumn, let's say.

"So I think we've got a long way to go in order to protect our entire population, and that's not including vaccinating children as well of course.

"So I think we will have to be under some kind of restrictions for some time, unfortunately."

Meanwhile, Professor Neil Ferguson – whose Covid modelling led to the UK's first lockdown last March – said we may still be wearing masks and socially distancing next year.

And a second SAGE adviser, Sir Jeremy Farrar, says cases must drop dramatically before life can begin to return to normal.

The director of the Wellcome Trust said today there were still 750,000 cases in Britain – 75 times more than there should be.

"Transmission is still incredibly high in the UK. If transmission were still at this level and we were not in lockdown, we would be going into lockdown," he said.

"We’ve got to get it lower, we’ve got to get it – in my view – into the single thousands before we can possibly think of lifting restrictions."

Sir Jeremy says it's "not sensible" for the Government to set a date for easing the lockdown yet – arguing they must instead by led by data to avoid infections spiking once again.

Professor Tim Spector has also warned "massive weddings" and large sporting events might be forced to keep Covid restrictions for "a few years".

Speaking on Times Radio at the weekend, Prof Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London, said he believes the public should "definitely be encouraged" to meet in small groups when the Government begins lifting its current Covid restrictions.

He said gatherings of up to six people outside could be reintroduced around the same time children return to primary schools.

The Government currently hopes children can return to class on March 8.

But he added: "I can't see us suddenly having another Cheltenham Festival with no regulations again, I can't see us having massive weddings with people coming from all over the world.

"I think for the next few years those days are gone."

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Elsewhere, Prof Neil Ferguson said restrictions could be in place well beyond this summer despite the UK's vaccine rollout.

The epidemiologist said the current vaccine rollout will have a "very major effect on deaths" but another will be needed in the autumn to "deal with new variants".

The alert on new variants was given days before Prof Edmunds warned yesterday new mutant strain found in Bristol could reinfect those who have already caught the bug.

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