The British government was blindsided by a new strain of coronavirus, and again by the world’s response.
The inside story of how Johnson was forced into action. By @Steven_Swinford (1) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/a-warning-a-cabinet-meeting-and-a-descent-into-chaos-kqwwwv03q?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1608625875
The inside story of how Johnson was forced into action. By @Steven_Swinford (1) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/a-warning-a-cabinet-meeting-and-a-descent-into-chaos-kqwwwv03q?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1608625875
At 11am on Friday a meeting of one of the government’s scientific advisory groups was held.
Two hours later it was obvious to everyone on the teleconference call that the coronavirus pandemic had taken a dramatic turn for the worse (2) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/a-warning-a-cabinet-meeting-and-a-descent-into-chaos-kqwwwv03q
Two hours later it was obvious to everyone on the teleconference call that the coronavirus pandemic had taken a dramatic turn for the worse (2) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/a-warning-a-cabinet-meeting-and-a-descent-into-chaos-kqwwwv03q
Boris Johnson called a meeting of the “Covid-O” subcommittee.
The meeting was bleak. “Everyone was blindsided,” a source said. “I don’t think anyone in the room expected it to be quite so bad"
A senior aide put it more succinctly: “It’s all f***ed” (3) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/a-warning-a-cabinet-meeting-and-a-descent-into-chaos-kqwwwv03q
The meeting was bleak. “Everyone was blindsided,” a source said. “I don’t think anyone in the room expected it to be quite so bad"
A senior aide put it more succinctly: “It’s all f***ed” (3) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/a-warning-a-cabinet-meeting-and-a-descent-into-chaos-kqwwwv03q
Others in government were concerned about the failure to act sooner.
The Times has been told that even before the mutation was identified, the outlook for the spread of the coronavirus was “terrible” (4) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/a-warning-a-cabinet-meeting-and-a-descent-into-chaos-kqwwwv03q
The Times has been told that even before the mutation was identified, the outlook for the spread of the coronavirus was “terrible” (4) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/a-warning-a-cabinet-meeting-and-a-descent-into-chaos-kqwwwv03q
One internal assessment suggested that there will be nearly 700,000 cases a week by mid to late February — more than three times the present level — with 20,000 hospital admissions and 5,000 deaths (5) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/a-warning-a-cabinet-meeting-and-a-descent-into-chaos-kqwwwv03q
Johnson, though, was said to have been stubborn. “It was only when he was faced with a scenario that looked like armageddon that he actually changed his position,” a source said. “He’s been told about this for weeks but he’s been in denial about this” (6) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/a-warning-a-cabinet-meeting-and-a-descent-into-chaos-kqwwwv03q