UK needs new approach to save lives and bolster the economy

THE UK response to the coronavirus crisis has been a masterclass in sloppy decision-making and chaotic public communications. The latest example of this came last Thursday night when Health Secretary Matt Hancock made an announcement giving some four million people across the North of England less than three hours of notice that they must endure tighter restrictions again.

Unfortunately, this is far from an isolated example of the flux and incoherence at the heart of UK policymaking in recent months. In February and March, the UK government flirted with a pandemic strategy styled by some as a "herd immunity" approach, while much of the rest of the world imposed restrictive measures more quickly and tested many more people.

With the government's "official" UK death figure from the virus now over 46,000, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released data last week showing the true number of deaths is almost certainly significantly larger. According to ONS, the United Kingdom had in the three-months till June 19 the largest absolute number of "excess deaths" in Europe at around 65,000. Not only that, but the nation seems set for one of the highest per capita death rates in the world.