By Aysu Bicer
LONDON (AA) - The UK’s early handling of the coronavirus pandemic was marked by serious delays, missed opportunities and a political culture that hindered effective decision-making, according to a report released Thursday by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.
Inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett delivered the findings that outlined a series of failures she said contributed to thousands of avoidable deaths.
She described the initial response in March 2020 as “too little, too late,” and criticized leadership at the highest levels of government.
The report said imposing a nationwide lockdown even one week earlier could have saved an estimated 23,000 lives during the first wave in England.
But it argued that a full lockdown might not have been necessary if measures such as early social distancing guidance, better testing capacity and clear self-isolation rules had been introduced sooner.
The inquiry highlights a “toxic and chaotic culture” inside government during that crucial period.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to have failed to address, and at times “actively encouraged,” internal dysfunction that affected how decisions were made.
Hallett criticized the government’s failure to learn from mistakes made during the first wave, calling repeated errors in later stages of the pandemic “inexcusable.”
Between March 2020 and May 2023, just under 227,000 people in the UK died, with COVID-19 listed as one of the causes on their death certificates, according to the BBC.
The inquiry, one of the most comprehensive public examinations of the UK’s pandemic response, is expected to continue releasing reports in the coming months.