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Covid inquiry: Government ‘made mistakes’ on contact tracing, PPE, and public messaging [1]
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Date: 2023-10
In a difficult day for the government at the latest Covid inquiry hearing, the British Medical Association criticised its decision to abandon contact tracing, its “hopelessly inadequate” supply of PPE, and its failed messaging around Eat Out to Help Out and working from home.
BMA lawyer Brian Stanton said the decision to stop tracking Covid transmissions, made in March 2020, weeks before the first lockdown, left the UK “without any effective measures for controlling the pandemic” and “likely fuelled” the number of deaths.
“This decision was ostensibly because the UK was moving from the ‘contain’ to the ‘delay’ stage of the pandemic,” Stanton told the hearing, adding that it later emerged that a lack of testing capacity was also partly responsible.
The BMA also criticised the government for taking too long to properly implement actions to reduce the spread of Covid-19. It said that, despite its own recommendations, interventions such as cancelling mass gatherings and introducing face masks came too late and were lifted too early.
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The BMA first called for face coverings to be worn on 25 April, but masks became mandatory in shops and supermarkets only on 24 July.
Then, Stanton said, in its determination to ease restrictions after the first lockdown, the UK government missed “a key opportunity” to better prepare for the second wave of Covid in summer 2020.
He continued: “In respect of Test and Trace, there was a failure to adopt a strategy to detect and contain the spread of Covid-19 at scale.”
The BMA also urged the inquiry to consider why Test and Trace relied on “expensive private sector alternatives and new systems” rather than existing public sector infrastructure.
‘Hopelessly inadequate’ PPE
The government also came under fire for a “hopelessly inadequate” provision of protective protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers during the pandemic.
Stanton said that, contrary to evidence previously heard by the inquiry, BMA members did not have enough suitable PPE (if they had any at all) during the first few months of the pandemic.
“Doctors and other healthcare staff did not have the PPE that was needed,” he said. “It not only put them at physical risk from Covid-19 but also affected their mental health and well being.”
Stanton also urged the inquiry to consider evidence suggesting that a government decision to prioritise costs over safety lead to a lack of respiratory protective equipment, which provides healthcare workers with greater protection against airborne viruses.
Inconsistent public health messages
The BMA further criticised the government for failing to provide “clear, consistent and visible public health messaging” in its campaigns from 2020. These include the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and drives to encourage people to work from home.
“The government campaign around working from home initially encouraged it, then required it, then encouraged it again, then strongly discouraged it, then encouraged it again and then required it again,” said Stanton, stressing that this pattern continued throughout 2021 and into 2022.
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[1] Url:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/covid-inquiry-contact-tracing-ppe-public-messaging-british-medical-association-criticise/
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