Lockdown a Week Earlier Would Have Prevented 23,000 Lives, Coronavirus Inquiry Determines
A critical independent inquiry into Britain's response to the coronavirus situation has concluded that the reaction was "too little, too late," stating that imposing restrictions only one week sooner might have spared in excess of 23,000 fatalities.
Primary Results of the Report
Documented through over seven hundred fifty pages covering two parts, the results paint a consistent story of procrastination, inaction and an apparent incapacity to understand from mistakes.
The narrative about the start of the coronavirus in the first months of 2020 is portrayed as notably harsh, labeling the month of February as "a month of inaction."
Ministerial Shortcomings Highlighted
- It raises questions about why the UK leader did not to lead any meeting of the emergency emergency committee that month.
- Action to Covid effectively stopped throughout the mid-term vacation.
- In the second week of that March, the state of affairs was "almost catastrophic," due to inadequate preparation, insufficient testing and consequently little understanding about how far the virus had circulated.
What Could Have Been
While admitting the fact that the move to impose a lockdown was unprecedented as well as hugely difficult, implementing additional measures to slow the transmission of Covid more quickly might have resulted in such measures might have been avoided, or alternatively been of shorter duration.
Once confinement was necessary, the report went on, if it had been enforced on 16 March, projections showed this could have reduced the number of deaths across England in the first wave of the virus by around half, representing 23,000 deaths prevented.
The inability to appreciate the magnitude of the danger, or the urgency for action it necessitated, led to the fact that when the chance of a mandatory lockdown was first discussed it was already too late and restrictions became inevitable.
Repeated Mistakes
The investigation further highlighted that a number of similar mistakes – reacting too slowly and minimizing the speed and consequences of the virus's transmission – occurred again in the latter part of 2020, when restrictions were removed only to be delayed reintroduced in the face of spreading mutations.
It labels this "unacceptable," adding how those in charge were unable to learn lessons during repeated phases.
Total Impact
The UK experienced one of the most severe Covid epidemics within Europe, amounting to approximately 240 thousand virus-related deaths.
This report constitutes the second by the national investigation covering each part of the handling as well as response to Covid, which was launched previously and is due to proceed through 2027.
