In 2019, the world health safety index ranked the United Kingdom in second place immediately after the United States. A system has been created in the country that can stop the epidemic. However, the authorities decided not to use it.
This writes the British edition of The Guardian.
Referring to the calculations of expert James Annan, the media noted that about 30 thousand British lives would have been saved if the authorities had entered quarantine not from March 23, but a week earlier. At the same time, the incidence and mortality rate from COVID-19 would be about 5 times less.
“But even March 16th would be extremely late. We now know that the government ministers were told on February 11 that the virus could be catastrophic and that decisive action was urgently needed. Instead, Boris Johnson told us to wash our hands and “engage in our normal daily lives”, – the article says.
If London began to operate in February, then the distribution of coronavirus in the kingdom could be at the level of South Korea, the country that did everything that the British government should have done, write in the media. But, if in the Asian republic there are now 11 thousand infected, then Britain is a continuous focus of coronavirus.
Moreover, while the British authorities were inactive, 18 million people arrived on its shores. Another 95 thousand entered after the introduction of quarantine. They were simply asked to isolate themselves.
On March 12, Boris Johnson abandoned the policy of containing the coronavirus, as well as nationwide testing. A week later, the government even lowered personal protective equipment standards as the status of the pandemic itself was revised.
“Again, there was no medical or scientific justification for this decision”, – according to the media.