Ex-PM Cameron says the UK focused too much on flu rather than other potential pandemics before COVID
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron has told a public inquiry that his government made a mistake by focusing too much on preparations for a flu pandemic rather than considering other types of pandemic in the years before the COVID-19 outbreak
LONDON (AP) — Britain made a mistake in focusing too much on preparations for a flu pandemic rather than considering other types of pandemic in the years before the COVID-19 outbreak, former Prime Minister David Cameron told a public inquiry Monday.
Cameron, who led Britain's Conservative government from 2010 to 2016, was the first politician to be questioned by the wide-ranging inquiry into the U.K.'s preparedness for the coronavirus pandemic, how the government responded and what lessons can be learned for the future.
The U.K. had one of the highest COVID-19 death tolls in Europe, with the virus recorded as a cause of death for almost 227,000 people.
Giving evidence under oath, Cameron said that during his time in office, officials were too narrowly focused on the dangers of an influenza pandemic. Not enough questions were asked about the possibility of an outbreak of other highly infectious respiratory diseases, he said.
