HEALTH chiefs risked overplaying Covid fears at the beginning of the pandemic, Professor Sir Chris Whitty admitted yesterday.
The chief medical officer informed the Covid-19 Inquiry he nonetheless fearful about whether or not folks have been made overly fearful of the bug.
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However he mentioned Britain was dealing with disaster with out motion and the impact of the virus would have been “considerably worse” with out the primary lockdown.
However, then again, he added that the size of the second wave was in all probability belowappreciated by the general public.
Sir Chris mentioned: “I fearful at the start and I nonetheless fear, did we get the extent of concern proper?
“Have been we over-pitching it so that folks have been extremely afraid of one thing the place, in actual fact, their precise threat was low?
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“Some would say, if something, we overdid it at the start.”
One other inquiry witness, NHS adviser Professor Kevin Fong, mentioned: “The size of demise was astounding.
Prof Fong broke down in tears as he recalled the horror confronted by intensive care workers throughout the early days of the disaster.
He had labored via the 7/7 London bombings in 2005 however mentioned Covid was worse.
He mentioned: “Typically nurses have been so overwhelmed that they have been placing sufferers in physique baggage, placing them on the ground, and placing one other affected person in that mattress right away as a result of there wasn’t time.”
