A leading US public health expert has warned of devastating consequences if the US ends its social distancing policies too soon, saying that COVID “could kill potentially millions” if the measures aren’t followed.

Tom Inglesby, a director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, issued his stark warning in a Twitter thread rebuking others for their hopeful statements that the country could be ready to return to normal life within as little as two weeks.

Addressing his thread to “anyone advising the end of social distancing now”, Mr Inglesby lays out how the practice of strict distancing measures in affected Asian countries has helped dramatically slow…