UK government failures spread Covid in care homes inquiry finds

Government failures caused Covid-19 to spread like wildfire among vulnerable and elderly people in care homes during the pandemic, according to the Guardian. The official public inquiry into the pandemic found that the care sector was treated as an afterthought by ministers. [1]

Baroness Heather Hallett, who leads the Covid-19 inquiry, stated that ministers failed to advise care homes to isolate patients who were discharged from hospitals, the Guardian reported. She described the lack of isolation guidance as a significant omission and a significant oversight that led to the rapid spread of the virus among care residents and staff. [1]

The global Covid-19 pandemic began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 before spreading worldwide in early 2020. The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020 and classified the outbreak as a pandemic in March 2020, before declaring the emergency ended in May 2023. [2]