Thousands of lives were lost due to delays and mistakes made at the start of the COVID pandemic by both ministers and their scientific advisers according to a highly critical report by MPs.
A pandemic plan based too much on influenza and “groupthink” among public health officials meant early opportunities to delay the spread of COVID were missed, even though lockdowns, testing and isolation strategies were working in other countries, the report found.
“We know that some of that scientific advice was wrong, but also that politicians should have challenged that advice,” Jeremy Hunt, chair of the Health Select Committee, told Sky News.
“You can’t just say ‘we’re following the science’ – you have to dig down and ask why scientists are saying what they’re saying. That challenge should have happened earlier.”
The key findings of the report include:
– It was a “serious early error” not to lock down sooner
– The decision to abandon testing for COVID in the community early on was a mistake that “cost many lives”
– Failing to prioritise social care and discharging people from hospitals into care homes “led to many thousands of deaths”
– Robust border controls were needed sooner
– There were “serious deficiencies” in communication within government and between central and local government.
According to MPs, “decisions on lockdowns and social distancing during the early weeks of the pandemic – and the advice that led to them – rank as one of the most important public health failures the United Kingdom has ever experienced”.
With more than 135,000 fatalities, the UK has the second-largest COVID-related death toll in Europe, surpassed only by Russia.
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Source : skynews
