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The Sunday Times last week sparked a storm of public opinion criticizing “38 days of sleepwalking in a disaster” by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The article, which was published in the in-depth column, revealed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson missed five high-level emergency meetings to discuss plans to deal with Covid-19 in January and February. The most talked about topic in the UK these days.
“There is no way to fight if the Prime Minister is not there. And what they know is that Prime Minister Johnson did not preside over any meeting. He liked his vacation home. He did not.” on weekends … It seems like you are not planning an emergency crisis. That is exactly what people fear, “the article said, according to an anonymous source.” Downing Street Senior Advisor. “
Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked the British National Health Service (NHS) in the video posted on April 12. Photos: Reuters
The author of the article said Prime Minister Johnson only seemed concerned about Brexit in January, distracted by complex personal lives, including divorce and engagement, in February.
The article claimed that the Johnson administration “simply crossed its arms” as the number of deaths and nCoV infections in China continued to rise in January and February, and “lost the opportunity” to purchase test kits. and personal protective equipment. The British Prime Minister showed no signs of great interest in Covid-19, until the first wave hit Britain in March.
Prime Minister Johnson’s aides and government ministers immediately sought to protect him and himself. Subsequently, the British Health Ministry published a 2,100-word article on the website entitled “Response to the intensive Sunday Times article”, claiming that the newspaper had “made a series of mistakes and deliberately misinterpreted the workload”. great things the government did in the early stages of the epidemic. “
The agency said that Health Secretary Matt Hancock was first alerted to Covid-19 on January 3, reported to Prime Minister Johnson on January 7, and then reported to the House of Representatives on January 23. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared nCoV as a global emergency medical condition on January 30 and the first case in the UK was reported on January 31. The Covid-19 hazard assessment at a low level in January, raising the average in February fully reflects the reality of the time, according to the British Ministry of Health.
To prove it, the UK Health Ministry quoted Richard Horton’s tweet from January 23, editor of the medical journal Lancet, who urged “be cautious” about a deadly virus that was about to attack Britain, because At the time, scientists had no consensus that nCoV was a threat.
Therefore, this agency claims that the UK government’s step-by-step response is reasonable and correct. Even Jenny Harries, deputy director of the Public Health Agency, said on April 19 that Britain was “an international model of pandemic preparedness,” although the country has registered nearly 125,000 people. infected and more than 16,500 deaths.
“The government always listens to scientific advice,” said the UK Ministry of Health. The agency added that the Prime Minister chaired the first meeting on Covid-19 on March 2, when nCoV spread to the UK, while on March 11, the WHO declared Covid-19 a pandemic.
However, controversy arose when Horton protested, accusing the British government of “deliberately rewriting the story in a disinformation campaign about Covid-19”. The editor said his tweet on January 23 only served to warn the media about being cautious about the outbreak and “followed by a series of tweets that underscored the threat of a new disease.”
“When you see people who are believed to be independent government medical advisers saying the wrong things just to reinforce a rapidly falling government, you have to say that those advisers have lost.” their integrity and our beliefs, “said Horton.
The tip of his nose pointed to the British administration even more when Michael Gove, the cabinet secretary, also confirmed that Prime Minister Johnson had not attended five meetings on Covid-19.
“The most urgent meetings do not have the prime minister present,” Gove said. These meetings “are led by relevant ministers in the relevant field,” he added.
Gove explained that who chaired such meetings was not important, the presence of the Prime Minister was unnecessary, and those meetings were often chaired by the relevant ministers, of whom everything was reported. Prime Minister Johnson. “The prime minister is very aware of all decisions and makes many decisions in person,” he said.
Gove emphasized that Johnson was “paddling” during the initial reaction to Covid-19. This is also a confirmation by British Education Minister Gavin Williamson at a press conference on April 19 at 10 Downing Street.
However, these explanations did not please critics, as they claimed that the UK faced the greatest threat of World War II, not a winter flood in the Midland region.
The British government has come under fire for its slow response and underestimation of the Covid-19 threats. It was not until March 23 that Mr. Johnson issued a national blockade decision, requesting the closure of all schools and non-essential businesses and businesses. The blocking order is expected to last until May.
Dr Meenal Viz held a protest outside 10 Downing Street, London on April 19. Photos: AP.
After Sun’s commentator Trevor Kavanagh said that after the epidemic ended and investigations were ongoing, Prime Minister Johnson and his government will surely answer many difficult questions about the response to Covid-19. However, Kavanagh also noted that as head of government, Prime Minister Johnson could not know everything and would have to rely on medical advisers to build a way to deal with the Covid-19 crisis. .
But medical experts at the British Public Health Agency at the time reported that Covid-19 was no more serious than a regular seasonal flu pandemic. They oppose the German wide-area testing policy, and when the situation is out of control, they refuse the help of private laboratories to carry out tests.
The British Public Health Agency also failed to build an arsenal of personal protective equipment, such as masks, protective gear, and gloves, though a 2016 drill showed this should be a priority when it comes to pandemic.
The agency insists that Britons must be protected with a “community immunity” policy, so that 60% of the population is infected early to achieve immunity in a short time. He only abandoned this view when Professor Neil Ferguson published a study warning that 250,000 people would die if Covid-19 “relaxed”.
“It will have to change long after Covid-19 passes. The change must start from the British Public Health Agency,” Kavanagh said.
Thanh Tam (The O Washington Post, independent)
