40,496 Dead. Britain's COVID-19 Failure.

A death toll of 21 in New Zealand shows the UK just how badly we got it wrong.

COVID-19 has, without a doubt, affected the world in ways we could never imagine. Hundreds of thousands have lost their lives, governments have imposed national 'lockdowns' and 'social distancing' measures and many are worried about what the future holds. This is unchartered waters for us all.

We don't expect our leaders to handle things perfectly. But what we do expect, or at least deserve, is our government to be sufficiently prepared and act in the best interests of its people.

In New Zealand, where 4.8 million inhabitants are slowly emerging from lockdown, the government has claimed the virus has stopped spreading - seemingly illustrating the success of its “go hard, go early” lockdown strategy. According to the New Zealand Ministry of Health, there has been a total of 21 COVID-19 related deaths to date - that's 0.00043% of the population.

Jacinta Ardern has demonstrated her effectiveness as a national leader throughout this crisis, and as a result, she and her government have soared in popularity.

On the other side of the world, in Britain, it's a different story. The Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday that 35,044 Covid-19 related deaths were registered in England and Wales up to 9 May. If we add the latest figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland, the total official UK death toll now stands at 40,496. That equates to 0.06% of the UK's population and the highest number of fatalities in Europe.

The UK government has repeatedly demonstrated its incompetence throughout this pandemic - although some sections of the British media would have you believe differently. Despite a cataclysmic death toll and PPE disaster, many in the British press have been more interested in the name of Boris Johnson’s baby.

The good news for Britain is that death rates are now falling, and for the first time since the virus hit the UK, every region of England and Wales recorded a reduced death toll in the general population, according to the ONS. 

A huge debt of gratitude is owed to our front-line heroes, who have selflessly put themselves at risk, in order to help others. You have served your country nobly.

Despite the now apparent easing of the virus; from foreign eyes, the scale of this disaster is all too clear. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald articulates this perfectly. Titled 'Biggest failure in a generation: Where did Britain go wrong?’. The piece points to “a growing chorus of health experts, MPs and members of the public who think Britain's response to the crisis has suffered from a series of deadly mistakes and miscalculations”.

It goes on to say "The charges focus on four areas: that healthcare workers struggled to access personal protective equipment, that Britain was too slow to implement a lockdown, that it bungled testing, and that vulnerable care home residents were not properly protected."

In contrast, Australia and New Zealand have been highly effective in closing their borders to prevent the spread of the virus. The article points out that 3.1 million people arrived in the UK last month via Heathrow Airport - a shockingly high number considering the situation.

“Home Secretary Priti Patel supported a ban on travellers who had been in hotspots but was slapped down by Downing Street," the article reads. "When this spat was underway, Australia's borders had already been closed for a week to all foreign travellers.”

The piece also cites scathing criticism from leading medical experts.

Dr Richard Horton, editor in chief of The Lancet medical journal, is quoted as saying: "The handling of the COVID-19 crisis in the UK is the most serious science policy failure in a generation."

Former Australian high commissioner to Britain, Mike Rann, commented: "The earliest stages were handled negligently. A shambles of mixed messaging, poor organisation and a complacent attitude that what was happening in Italy wouldn't happen here."

Boris Johnson’s government may have hoodwinked many in the UK, but they’ve not fooled everyone. Our 'great' country, like many others, is in dire need of more effective and compassionate leadership.