COVID inquiry finds UK inaction cost thousands of lives

LONDON, United Kingdom, November 23 ------ About 23,000 deaths could have been prevented in England if the first COVID-19 lockdown had been introduced sooner at the start of the pandemic, a UK public inquiry found, also slamming a "toxic" and misogynistic culture at the top of government.

The second report from an inquiry into the UK response to the COVID-19 pandemic criticized the government led by Boris Johnson for a "lack of urgency" in the early days of the pandemic in 2020, adding the lockdown was "too little, too late".

Inquiry chair Heather Hallett said there was a "serious failure" by the government to "appreciate the level of risk and the calamity that the UK faced and the need to inject urgency into the response". Modelling shows that if the first lockdown had been imposed earlier, it could have prevented 23,000 deaths in England alone in the first wave, according to the 800-page report. "Had the lockdown been imposed one week earlier than March 23, the evidence suggests that the number of deaths in England alone in the first wave up until July 1, 2020, would have been reduced by 48 percent," Hallett, a retired senior judge, said.

The inquiry chair called February 2020 a "lost month", adding that if restrictions had been introduced sooner, the mandatory lockdown could have been shorter, or "might not have been necessary at all". The report also criticized "repeated" failures and delays in introducing sufficient restrictions to control subsequent COVID-19 waves.

'Unacceptable loss of life'

During inquiry hearings last month, Johnson said he regretted the impact of the government's decisions on children, especially the "nightmare" school closures. The first inquiry report published in July 2024 found that UK ministers and officials had been woefully underprepared for a global pandemic.

In a statement, a group representing families who lost loved ones during the pandemic slammed the government's "catastrophic mishandling". "We now know that many of our family members would still be alive today if it weren't for the leadership of Boris Johnson and his colleagues," COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK said. The report recommended changes, including reforming decision-making structures during emergencies and improving consideration of the impact of decisions on vulnerable groups.

UK public inquiries are government-funded but have an independent chair. They investigate matters of public concern, establishing facts about what happened, why, and what lessons can be learned. They do not rule on civil or criminal liability, and any recommendations are not legally binding. The COVID-19 inquiry, which began in 2023, is scheduled to wrap up hearings in 2026.

Source: gmanetwork.com