My Take | Independent review of the Covid response would help Hong Kong heal
- Consigning the pandemic to the past is understandable. Yet an inquiry would give the public a better understanding of the decisions made
Little more than a year has passed since the lifting of the last remaining Covid-19 restrictions in Hong Kong and the city is looking ahead. There has been scant room for public reflection or investigation into the way the pandemic was tackled, amid determined efforts to ensure the city bounces back.
Britain has taken a different approach. Last week, an independent judicial inquiry issued its first report, on whether the country was prepared for the crisis. And it didn’t hold back.
The report, one of at least nine expected on different aspects, slammed those responsible, including government ministers, for a catastrophic lack of effective planning.
Retired judge Baroness Heather Hallett, chair of the inquiry, said: “I have no hesitation in concluding the processes, planning and policy of the civil contingency structures across the UK failed the citizens …”
She added: “There were serious errors on the part of the state and serious flaws in our emergency systems. This cannot be allowed to happen again.” More than 235,000 died from Covid-19 in the UK.
The inquiry, which drew on thousands of documents and called more than 200 witnesses, laid bare the inadequacy of the UK’s strategy.
It revealed the government had planned for “the wrong pandemic”, envisaging an influenza outbreak and focusing on the consequences of the virus rather than on stopping it spreading. This approach was ill-suited to Covid-19 and quickly abandoned. There was no plan B.
