Failures to properly prepare for a pandemic in the UK are expected to be laid bare today as the UK Covid-19 Inquiry publishes its first report. Inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett will deliver her verdict on how well the UK was able to face a deadly outbreak in the run up to 2020 when the Covid pandemic swept across Britain. The report is expected to highlight the UK’s focus on preparing for a flu pandemic instead of a coronavirus pandemic.
Lady Hallett may highlight how austerity measures led to public health cut backs. She could potentially also comment on preparations surrounding personal protective equipment (PPE) and a government focused on Brexit. The UK voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, but it was not until January 2020 that then Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s revised withdrawal agreement passed through Parliament , following years of increasingly bitter arguments.
Last year, the inquiry heard successive senior Tory figures dismiss any connection between their policies and the UK’s failings during the pandemic. However, Nicola Sturgeon, the former first minister of Scotland, told the inquiry that Brexit and the UK government had limited the ability of her government to stem the spread of the coronavirus and manage its health effects. It was “deeply regrettable” that the threat of a “no-deal Brexit” had forced the government to “divert resources” away from emergency planning on potential pandemics, Ms Sturgeon said.
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