The UK government is unprepared for a pandemic like Covid-19, says a new report. The Court of Auditors (NAO) report said the government did not have a detailed screening plan, job promotion program, and dropouts.
Cost controllers add that lessons have to be learned. Iresponse, the government said the unprecedented pandemic had challenged health systems worldwide – not just in the UK.
NAO said preparations for an influenza pandemic or a highly contagious disease such as Ebola should take precedence over conditions with characteristics similar to Covid. The agency said the UK government had no specific plans to fight diseases like Covid-19. Which has a lower death rate than Ebola but can spread to communities with infected people without symptoms.
The report shows that the government has taken steps to contain the pandemic. Such as stockpiling personal protective equipment but is not prepared for the “widespread impact. That the coronavirus and other pandemic viruses have on society and the economy.
The government announced in January.
And on March 21, the government began sending letters to people identified as vulnerable to Covid. Advising them to stay home and “protect themselves.”
However, the NAO report found that the government did not have a detailed plan for such action.
The report also found that Cabinet dispatched 56 of 94 full-time contingency planners to prepare for potential disruption from a no-deal EU exit, limiting its ability to plan for other crises. The agency noted that the pandemic was “vulnerable to a system-wide emergency,” pointing out. That there was “limited oversight and trust” in existing plans.
According to the report, the government missed an opportunity to learn from the previous large-scale pandemic simulation conducted in 2007. One simulation, Exercise Cygnus, held in 2016, suggests that the government should “increase the ability of staff to work from home.”
A government spokesman said: “We have always said there are lessons to be learned from the pandemic, and we are committed to a full public investigation in the spring. “We are preparing for several scenarios, and while extensive precautions have been taken. This is an unprecedented pandemic that has affected health systems around the world.”
Overshadowed Labor Secretary Fleur Anderson said the report showed “Conservative ministers failed to prepare and disappointed the public.”