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Cliff Buddle

Little more than a year has passed since the lifting of the last remaining Covid-19 restrictions in Hong Kong and the city is looking ahead. There has been scant room for public reflection or investigation into the way the pandemic was tackled, amid determined efforts to ensure the city bounces back.
Britain has taken a different approach. Last week, an independent judicial inquiry issued its first report, on whether the country was prepared for the crisis. And it didn’t hold back.
The report, one of at least nine expected on different aspects, slammed those responsible, including government ministers, for a catastrophic lack of effective planning.
Retired judge Baroness Heather Hallett, chair of the inquiry, said: “I have no hesitation in concluding the processes, planning and policy of the civil contingency structures across the UK failed the citizens …”
She added: “There were serious errors on the part of the state and serious flaws in our emergency systems. This cannot be allowed to happen again.” More than 235,000 died from Covid-19 in the UK.
The inquiry, which drew on thousands of documents and called more than 200 witnesses, laid bare the inadequacy of the UK’s strategy.
It revealed the government had planned for “the wrong pandemic”, envisaging an influenza outbreak and focusing on the consequences of the virus rather than on stopping it spreading. This approach was ill-suited to Covid-19 and quickly abandoned. There was no plan B.
The inquiry highlighted the failure to prepare for testing and tracing or for lockdowns. It noted that the UK had not learned from the experience of Asian countries in containing severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers).
Other problems included the “labyrinthine” complexity of the institutions involved, a lack of adequate leadership, coordination and oversight and a failure to sufficiently challenge advice.
The report is a damning indictment on the UK’s approach. It makes 10 key recommendations, including centralising, simplifying and significantly improving the planning process.
“Unless the lessons are learned and fundamental change is implemented, the human and financial cost and sacrifice of the Covid-19 pandemic will have been in vain,” Hallett said.
The world needs to learn from the Covid-19 experience. But the value of this rigorous inquiry also lies in allowing those who lost loved ones to tell their stories, better understand the decisions made and to see those responsible held to account. This is a necessary step in helping them come to terms with their personal tragedy.
As Hallett said: “The harrowing accounts of loss and grief given by the bereaved witnesses and others who suffered during the pandemic serve to remind us why there must be radical reform.”
Hong Kong’s experience was, in many ways, different to that of the UK. It kept Covid-19 relatively at bay for long periods with tight restrictions, but there was a heavy price to pay.
Border controls left the city isolated and social-distancing measures took an unbearable toll on daily life. After all that, the city was hit by a deadly surge in cases in early 2022, with hospitals overwhelmed. Hong Kong, too, has many lessons to learn.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu ruled out an independent inquiry in January last year, saying the government continuously draws on past experience to ensure the city can respond to threats. But the need for a public accounting of all that happened remains, at least to provide closure for the friends and family of the more than 13,000 people who lost their lives in Hong Kong.
As for learning lessons, there must be a sense of urgency. Hallett said the evidence suggests it is not a case of “if” but “when” another pandemic will strike and it could be even more contagious and deadly next time.
A desire to consign the pandemic to the past is understandable. But an independent review, providing the public with a better understanding of the decisions made, would help Hong Kong move on from those painful years and be better prepared for the future.


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Opinion

Consigning the pandemic to the past is understandable. Yet an inquiry would give the public a better understanding of the decisions made


Consigning the pandemic to the past is understandable. Yet an inquiry would give the public a better understanding of the decisions made.


Coronavirus Hong Kong

Britain

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

My Take

My Take | Independent review of the Covid response would help Hong Kong heal

Consigning the pandemic to the past is understandable. Yet an inquiry would give the public a better understanding of the decisions made