LONDON - Scientists have warned that spending more time indoors in buildings with less ventilation is a key risk factor for an increased spread of coronavirus in winter.

The warning comes as Professor John Edmunds, who attends meetings of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said that Britain will "probably" be hit with a second wave of the illness as temperatures drop.

Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, visiting professor at the University of Cambridge, said: "People may spend more time indoors than outdoors.

"The interior environment is inherently more challenging for us with this disease than outdoors – there are more potential contact points and it is not as easy to dilute any virus particles or have them swept away by the wind for example."

Fitzgerald went on to say that with windows and doors closed to keep the cold out, homes have less fresh air blowing in – meaning the virus is more likely to transmit.

Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, has previously spoken of how there is a "reasonable chance" that coronavirus numbers will increase in winter.

Prof Whitty said: "It's something that transmits more easily indoors, for example, and therefore things that are working well in summer and autumn may cease to be working well in winter.

"We need to know what combination of measures we might have to introduce or reintroduce at that stage to cover a difficult period of the year."(FA)