In a candid testimony before the Covid-19 inquiry, Chief Medical Officer Sir Chris Whitty revealed that the UK was “woefully” unprepared for a pandemic before the arrival of the coronavirus in 2020. Whitty, a key adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the pandemic, expressed his belief that the first lockdown was imposed “too late.”
During the six-hour grilling, Sir Chris was diplomatic but highlighted deficiencies in the pre-2020 pandemic preparedness document, describing it as “woefully deficient” even for managing flu, let alone a more deadly virus like COVID-19. He emphasised the government’s lack of robust plans to mitigate the high mortality rate associated with the virus.
In hindsight, Sir Chris admitted he would have taken different actions, including banning mass gatherings and implementing earlier travel quarantines for those arriving from China. Despite differences with former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Sir Chris characterised their debates as “extremely small,” emphasising the importance of considering indirect costs when imposing restrictions on the population.
Addressing criticism for not raising the alarm in mid-January 2020, Sir Chris defended his decision, citing the need to weigh the indirect costs of restrictions. As the inquiry unfolds, both current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and former boss Boris Johnson are expected to provide their accounts in the coming weeks.
