UK COVID-19 Response “Too slow,” Could Have Saved 23,000 Lives, report Finds
LONDON – A damning report released today by the UK’s autonomous official inquiry commitee concludes the British government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was considerably delayed and inadequate, possibly resulting in 23,000 preventable deaths in England alone. The report, released November 20th, cites a “toxic and confusing culture” within the government at the time as a key factor in the slow reaction.
According to the report, implementing a national lockdown just one week earlier – on March 16, 2020 – could have reduced the death toll in England by nearly half. The UK has been among the hardest-hit nations in Europe, recording over 226,000 COVID-19 deaths as the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Investigators found that despite an initial COVID-19 crisis in Italy prompting emergency planning across the UK’s four nations – England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland – a coordinated plan failed to materialize, labeling February 2020 a “lost month.” The report states that consideration of a mandatory lockdown was delayed due to a failure to properly assess the threat’s scale and urgency.
Systemic issues plagued the response throughout 2020, wiht repeated mistakes including slow reaction times and underestimation of the virus’s spread and impact. The report also directly criticized then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership, stating, ”It should have been known earlier that it was an emergency that required the Prime Minister’s leadership.”
The findings represent the second report from the independent inquiry and offer a critical assessment of the UK’s handling of the pandemic’s initial stages.
