World News | Ex-prime Minister Tells COVID Inquiry That UK Erred in Focusing Too Much on Threat of a Flu Pandemic
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Britain made a mistake in focusing too much on preparations for a flu pandemic rather than considering other types of pandemic in the years before the COVID-19 outbreak, former Prime Minister David Cameron told a public inquiry Monday.
London, Jun 19 (AP) Britain made a mistake in focusing too much on preparations for a flu pandemic rather than considering other types of pandemic in the years before the COVID-19 outbreak, former Prime Minister David Cameron told a public inquiry Monday.
Cameron, who led Britain's Conservative government from 2010 to 2016, was the first politician to be questioned by the wide-ranging inquiry into the UK's preparedness for the coronavirus pandemic, how the government responded and what lessons can be learned for the future.
The UK had one of the highest COVID-19 death tolls in Europe, with the virus recorded as a cause of death for almost 227,000 people.
Giving evidence under oath, Cameron said that during his time in office, officials were too narrowly focused on the dangers of an influenza pandemic. Not enough questions were asked about the possibility of an outbreak of other highly infectious respiratory diseases, he said.
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“So much time was spent on a pandemic influenza and that was seen as the greatest danger,” Cameron said.
He said his government did look at other pandemics, including MERS and SARS. But he added: “I think the failing was not to ask more questions about asymptomatic transmission, highly infectious … what turned out to be the pandemic we had.”
He said many countries were “in the same boat of not knowing what was coming,” but he argued that the UK did better than many to “scan the horizon, to try and plan” for a pandemic.
Cameron also rejected accusations that austerity measures under his leadership that cut government spending on public services left the UK's National Health Service much more vulnerable to the pandemic.
Earlier, the British Medical Association, the doctors' union, argued that Cameron's austerity policies led to years of damage to public health care and a “failure to prioritise the nation's health.”
“The UK was severely on the back foot when COVID took hold, and this proved disastrous,” said Philip Banfield, chair of council at the union.
The official inquiry, led by a retired judge, is set to take three years to complete. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who led the UK during the pandemic, agreed in late 2021 to hold the probe after heavy pressure from bereaved families.
Many other senior politicians are expected to be called to face questions. On Wednesday Jeremy Hunt, the current Treasury chief and former health secretary, and deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden are due to testify.
The pandemic and how Britain's government handled it is a topic that is again dominating headlines after lawmakers issued a scathing report last week concluding that Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over lockdown-flouting staff parties at his office. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)