UK was ill-prepared for pandemic because resources were diverted to Brexit, ex-health chief says

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s former health secretary has told an official inquiry that the U.K. was ill-prepared for a pandemic partly because government resources had been diverted away from pandemic planning to brace for a possibly chaotic no-deal Brexit. Matt Hancock also said officials had to scramble to source protective equipment, set up mass testing and contact tracing systems “from scratch” once the coronavirus pandemic broke out because the U.K. planning attitude was “completely wrong.” He said the focus had been on planning for the consequences of a disaster, not how to stop the virus from spreading. The U.K. had one of the highest COVID-19 death tolls in Europe. Hancock said an emotional sorry Tuesday to all those who died and were affected.