TORIES 'LOST CONTROL' OF COVID CASES

BMA baffled by ministers' choices Privatised Test & Trace criticised

-  MARTIN BAGOT

THE Government lost control of the pandemic when it ditched contact tracing early on, the Covid-19 Inquiry has heard.

The British Medical Association said the Tories "abandoned basic public health protection" when setting up a privatised Test and Trace system.

Two months earlier, in March 2020, Boris Johnson's Government had decided to halt community testing and contact tracing due to a lack of PCR test kit stockpiles.

Ministers instead focused testing on hospital patients and healthcare workers, as it moved from a "contain" to a "delay" phase.