Did Brexit contribute to Covid-19?

We live in palpably uncertain times. Social media and sensationalist reporting can create panic, when level headed rationality is required. It is worth remembering that news and media outlets need your attention to survive. Our times equals their money. They need you to click on the headline — because that’s how their business model works. Sensationalist headlines drive clicks. Don’t fall for it.

Use social media selectively, and curate information from selectively chosen sources. The Times and the press conference for me. Neither are reliant on clickbait.

I look forward to the daily press conference from the UK government. It gives me confidence that a diverse nexus of leading medical and scientific minds are dealing with the pandemic. Dare I say It, it puts my mind at ease — to an extent.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for the manner in which the government is “fronting up” every day and communicating with the public in an unprecedented manner. They are answering tough, unscripted question from a range of publications. When it would be easy to control the flow of information, they are offering the public complete asymmetry. Kudos. However;

Why is the UK so unprepared for this?

We are demonstrably behind the International curve in terms of testing. Countries such as South Korea and Singapore quelled the threat of the virus relatively early on its growth curve, due to a rigorous programme of testing and contact tracing as prescribed by the World Health Organisation.

Herd Immunity has been bandied around as a potential reason for a crippling lack of testing. The unavailability of the requisite chemical reagent has also been mentioned. I just don’t buy it. The truth is, I suspect, rather more prosaic.

Get Brexit Done

23rd June 2016. You probably won’t recognise the date instantly. It was the date of the EU Referendum which has dominated UK politics for almost 4 years. The result of that referendum set in motion a chain of events that are not yet concluded.

Let’s look at a timeline of British politics in the last few months:

- 12th December 2019. General Election in UK.

- 31st January 2020. UK officially leaves the European Union.

- 14th February 2020. Cabinet Reshuffle.

- 11th March 2020. Budget Announced by UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak.

That is quite a calendar of events in their own right, before even considering the negotiation of future trade deals, withdrawal agreements and implementation periods. In the midst of this, the first Covid-19 victim was reported in the UK on 2nd March. The overlap and repercussions are clear.

Civil Servants and Politicians alike have been working round the clock to deliver the all-encompassing change that Brexit has entailed. It would be surely no exaggeration to suggest that Brexit has set in motion a chain of events that have been the singular focus of our governing politicians and public sector infrastructure.

Indeed, the titular programme of Government has been “Get Brexit Done”. It is now “Stay at Home, Protect the NHS”.

In all this, was anyone paying sufficient attention to the prospect of a pandemic?

Time is Precious

Coronavirus has been treated with an air of inevitability by our politicians. Almost as sure as Winter following Autumn. I would dispute that. Coronavirus has been allowed to take hold in the UK and put incredible strain on our public services, and the lives of our public, when it simply did not need to.

- Why is out testing capability so seemingly inadequate, that front line health staff are not being tested?

- Why were people arriving on flights from virus hotspots and not being quarantined?

- Why was contact tracing not performed on known cases?

- Why has our critical care capacity not been augmented sooner — why are Dyson making us panic ventilators?

I have total respect and confidence in the leadership and statesmanship that Boris Johnson and his Government is now providing, but I can’t look past the feeling that the impending threat of coronavirus was overlooked simply due to the huge time and resource drain associated with Brexit. It is simple economics; time, and by default focus, is a scare utility.

Perhaps because of time pressures, we arguably lost a valuable 10 days in preparing for this — how will history judge this? How many lives will be an indirect consequence of Brexit?