Britain had a head start on Covid-19, but our leaders squandered it

Those of us who have been tracking the novel coronavirus since December can easily identify its key milestones. There was mid-January, when human to human transmission of coronavirus was confirmed. Then later that month Hubei province hit 500 cases, the unprecedented lockdown extended to almost 60 million people, and the Lancet published a study showing that a third of patients require admission to intensive care, and 29% get so bad that they need ventilation. By the end of February, a sobering WHO-China joint mission press conference illustrated the massive policy response in China – and, on 29 February, the UK saw its first case of local transmission.

In the UK we have had nine weeks to listen, learn and prepare. We have had nine weeks to run outbreak simulations, set up supply chains to ensure sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators, and bring about the availability of rapid, cheap tests. We have had nine weeks to establish algorithms to support contact tracing, and start mass awareness campaigns not only about hand-washing, but about the risks that the virus would pose to social and economic activity if not taken seriously by all. Countries such as Senegal were doing this in January