THE Covid Inquiry will today reveal how ministers’ failure to prepare for the pandemic set Britain up for disaster. Baroness Heather Hallett will report the findings of the inquiry’s first module “Resilience and Preparedness” - four years after the outbreak began. It is based on evidence from dozens of politicians, experts and government officials and is expected to be heavily critical.
She is also expected to lay out recommendations for how the UK can better prepare for the next epidemic. It is widely accepted that the government before 2020 focused too heavily on a flu pandemic in its disaster planning - and coronavirus turned out to be very different. Worsening public health in the years leading up to the outbreak, with obesity and illnesses like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure rising, may also have left Brits more at risk .
The years leading up to today have been draining The report is also likely to find that a focus on Brexit diverted attention away from pandemic planning. Brenda Doherty, of campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said: “The publication of the module one report marks a huge milestone for bereaved families like mine. “We know that for lives to be saved in the future, lessons must be learnt from the mistakes of the past.
“Sadly, nobody knows the true cost of the government's failure to prepare as we do. “From campaigning to bring about an inquiry, to hearing revelation after revelation regarding the ways in which .