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An critical independent investigation regarding the UK's management of the Covid crisis has concluded that the response were "insufficient and delayed," declaring that imposing a lockdown even seven days before could have spared in excess of 23,000 fatalities.

Primary Results of the Inquiry

Documented in over seven hundred fifty documents spanning two parts, the conclusions paint an unmistakable story showing hesitation, inaction and a seeming inability to absorb from mistakes.

The description concerning the start of the pandemic in early 2020 is portrayed as particularly harsh, calling February as "a lost month."

Official Failures Highlighted

• It raises questions about why Boris Johnson neglected to convene one session of the government's Cobra emergency committee during February.
• Measures to the pandemic largely paused over the school break.
• By the second week of March, the state of affairs was described as "nearly disastrous," due to inadequate plan, no testing and thus little understanding regarding how far Covid was spreading.

What Could Have Been

While recognizing the fact that the move to implement confinement was historic as well as hugely difficult, taking additional measures to curb the transmission of Covid more quickly might have resulted in that one could have been prevented, or have been of shorter duration.

By the time confinement was necessary, the report stated, if it had been introduced on 16 March, modelling suggested this might have cut the count of lives lost across England in the first wave of the pandemic by around half, representing over 20,000 fatalities avoided.

The omission to understand the magnitude of the risk, and the need of response it necessitated, resulted in that by the time the option of enforced restrictions was first discussed it proved too late and a lockdown had become inevitable.

Recurring Errors

The investigation additionally highlighted how several of the same mistakes – responding with delay and underestimating the speed together with consequences of Covid’s spread – were later repeated in the latter part of 2020, when restrictions were removed only to be delayed reimposed because of infectious mutations.

The report describes this "inexcusable," stating how those in charge failed to improve through repeated phases.

Overall Toll

The UK experienced one of the most severe coronavirus outbreaks in Europe, with around two hundred forty thousand virus-related deaths.

The inquiry represents another by the ongoing investigation covering every element of the handling and management to the coronavirus, that was launched two years ago and is expected to run until 2027.