Britain wasn't 'operationally prepared' for Covid as it was too focused on obesity, inquiry told
Daily MailBritain was 'not operationally prepared' for a pandemic, a former senior scientist in the Government claimed today. Sir Mark Walport, the Government's chief scientific adviser from 2013 to 2017, told the Covid Inquiry that while the country was prepared 'scientifically', operationally was 'another matter'. A rise in rates of chronic inflammatory diseases, hypertension and diabetes, which are linked to being too fat, were deemed more concerning health issues than future infectious disease crises, Sir Mark said. Sir Mark Walport, who was the Government's chief scientific adviser from 2013 to 2017, told the Covid Inquiry while 'scientifically' the country was 'quite prepared', operationally was 'another matter'. On the first day of the public hearing last week, the inquiry's chief lawyer Hugo Keith said Britain 'might not have been well prepared at all' for the pandemic.
History of this topic
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