Why were UK borders left wide open?

I COULDN’T disagree more with P Collins, who stated in his recent letter regarding the Government’s response to coronavirus that “mistakes have been made, obvious now in hindsight”.

During the first wave I couldn’t understand why our borders were left wide open, as we were told at the daily Downing Street briefings it wouldn’t make any difference as infection rates were so high.

As a result, 1,300 separate cases of infection were imported from France, Spain and Italy. Any thought of achieving herd immunity had to be abandoned as they soon realised the NHS would be overwhelmed as the disease spread exponentially.

Another major problem is that people can’t or won’t self-isolate. We have one of the worst provisions of statutory sick pay (SSP) in Europe and the Government knew that.

This was clearly a factor in a major outbreak in November at a food processing plant in Kent, supplying lettuces to M&S (as reported on Newsnight, 1 March).

Their investigation found workers with symptoms kept turning up for work as they couldn’t afford to live on £95 a week SSP. In December two workers, including a man from the Czech Republic with a young family, died with Covid although no one can be certain of where they caught it.

In February, the Government belatedly introduced hotel quarantine but only from a ‘red list’ of 33 countries. Another half-hearted measure synonymous with the way they have dealt with the pandemic, too little, too late.

We have the highest death rate per head of population in the world and the pandemic has shone a light on inequalities in health and wealth in this country. The Government have been complacent, negligent and incompetent, and when this is all over Public Health England should be disbanded as they are not fit for purpose.

Andrew Cotter

Plymouth