London, Mar 18 (FN Bureau) The UK government repeatedly delayed the imposition of COVID-19 lockdowns, a “huge mistake” that led to tens of thousands of extra coronavirus-related deaths and should be the center of an eventual inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic. “One huge mistake will be the centre of the eventual inquiry into the UK Government’s handling of this pandemic: the failure to lockdown early enough despite clear evidence of the need to do so. That mistake is all the worse for having been made, not once, but three tragic times,” the thinktank said.
Prime minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government is facing mounting pressure from the opposition and the public to conduct an investigation on the handling of the pandemic. Data from a poll released on Wednesday showed that 47 percent of people support an inquiry, but business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said it was “premature” to launch an investigation with the pandemic still around. The Resolution Foundation’s report claimed, for example, that the decision to postpone the start of the latest lockdown until January, “despite evidence of fast rising cases,” is estimated to have led to around 27,000 extra COVID-19 deaths. It also warned that the government cannot claim now that it was protecting the economy because the repeated delays no only cost tens of thousands of lives but are part of the reason why the UK economy is experiencing a deeper impact than other countries.
“To begin with, despite seeing an Italian national lockdown put in place on 9 March 2020, the Prime Minister (Boris Johnson) held off following suit until two weeks later. At this point, the virus caseload was doubling every few days, so even small delays were crucial,” the Resolution Foundation said. As a positive note in its assessment of the government’s achievements and failures during the COVID-19 crisis, the thinktank said that the UK vaccination campaign that started in December did not only go first but fast, noting that by the middle of March 25 million people have received their first dose of the vaccine. It also praised the financial support for businesses and workers to avoid massive layoffs and help firms navigate the crisis but highlighted that poorer households have borne the brunt of the health and economic crises.