From Reuters:
“UK COVID inquiry begins,
vowing to expose any culpable conduct”
A public inquiry into Britain's
response to and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic got underway on Tuesday, with
a promise it would get to the truth, and expose any wrongdoing or culpable
conduct. Britain has recorded almost 20 million COVID infections and more than
166,000 deaths - the seventh highest fatality total globally - and former Prime
Minister Boris Johnson and his ministers have faced criticism for their
handling of the crisis.
Last year, Johnson ordered the
inquiry to look into the preparedness of the country as well as the public
health and economic response. The investigation is being led by former judge
Heather Hallett, who held a minute's silence at the beginning of the hearing in
memory of those who died. "The inquiry will analyse our state of readiness
for the pandemic and the response to it ... and to determine whether that level
of loss about which we've just been reflecting was inevitable, or whether
things could have been done better," she said. She said she was determined
the inquiry would not "drag on for decades" and her aim was to
produce timely reports and recommendations "before another disaster
strikes".
Hugo Keith, the lead counsel who
provides legal advice to its chair, said the inquiry would be an unprecedented
and vast undertaking. It will be divided into a number of modules, beginning
with the how prepared Britain was. Its duty was "to get to the truth, to
ensure that the full facts are revealed, that culpable and discreditable
conduct is exposed and brought to public notice, that plainly wrongful
decision-making and significant errors of judgement are identified, and that
lessons may be properly learned," he said. "The bereaved and those
who have suffered are absolutely entitled to no less."
Last year, a report by the
government's spending watchdog said the government was unprepared for a crisis
like the pandemic and had been distracted by Britain's departure from the
European Union. Another joint report by lawmakers on parliament's health and
science committees also concluded that the delay to England's first coronavirus
lockdown was a serious error and that failures in testing positive cases and
tracing their contacts exacerbated the crisis. Johnson's own former top
adviser, Dominic Cummings, has said Britain's early plan to combat COVID was a
"disaster" and "awful decisions" led to the government imposing
lockdowns that could have been avoided. "The disease has caused widespread
and long-term physical and mental illness, grief and untold misery," said
Keith, adding there had been more than 609 million confirmed cases worldwide
with some estimates of the number of deaths put at 17.5 million. "Its
impact will be felt worldwide, including in the United Kingdom for decades to
come."
^ Every country around the world
needs to have a similar Official and Independent Inquiry into the Covid
Pandemic and what was done correctly and what was not done correctly, what led
to needless deaths and what saved people.
It needs to focus on the Local,
State and Federal Governments’ Responses, on the and Health Care Systems’ (Nursing
Homes, Group Homes, Veterans’ Homes, Clinics, Urgent Cares, Hospitals, Hospice,
etc.) Responses, on Prisons’ (Privately-Run and Publicly- Run) Responses, on
Universities and Colleges’ (Privately-Run and Publicly-Run) Responses, on Elementary/Middle/High
Schools’ (Privately-Run and Publicly-Run) Responses, on Transportation
Responses (Subways, Commuter Trains, Long-Distance Trains, City Buses, Long-Distance
Buses, Airlines, Airports, Train Stations, etc.), on Tourist Attractions’
Responses, on First Responders’ (Privately-Run and Publicly-Run, EMS, Fire,
Police, National Guard, US Military, etc.) Responses, on Banks’ Responses, on
Businesses’ Responses and on the Food Industries’ (Restaurants, Cafeterias, Cafes,
Food Processing Plants, etc.) Responses.
We need to know everything whether
it is good or bad so we can be better prepared for any future Pandemics or
Crises. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.