We've forgotten lessons of Covid, say experts

Key scientific lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic are being for- gotten, UK scientists have warned.

- Robin McKie Science Editor

The researchers have raised the alarm as the nation marks the fifth anniversary of the introduction of lockdown, which was announced by then prime minister Boris Johnson on 23 March 2020.

The decision was made to prevent NHS hospitals being swamped by hundreds of thousands of new cases of seriously ill Covid patients.

However, there is no evidence that the health service would be any better prepared today should another lethal virus appear in the near future, sci- entists said.

"Every winter, even before Covid, hospitals were run very close to the edge," said Prof Rowland Kao of Edinburgh University. "When the dis- ease arrived, the NHS was simply not in a position to take any more. And there are no signs it will be differ- ent next time. Indeed, it is likely to be worse."

Nor is there any evidence that the country has understood the psycho- logical consequences triggered by placing the nation into lockdown.