The Covid questions that need answering
THE Covid Inquiry’s first two weeks have delivered their fair share of bombshells. But next week that is likely to ramp up further as Welsh political leaders face questions about their handling of the pandemic.
So far the inquiry has put tough questions to some of those involved in the decision making and formulation of the Welsh Government’s policy on Covid-19, including chief medical officer Sir Frank Atherton.
And we’ve heard shocking revelations, including that symptomatic patients were sent into care homes, that the then head of the NHS took no meaningful action to prepare for the virus for weeks after being advised to do so in January 2020, and that special advisers were exercising huge influence within government.
Next week will see both First Minister Mark Drakeford and Economy Minister Vaughan Gething, among other ministers, answer questions.
There are some crucial questions the inquiry simply has to ask: why Covid was first discussed by the Welsh cabinet three weeks later than by the rest of the UK; why special advisers who would not normally have had such powers appeared to hold such influence at the heart of government; why ministers deleted WhatsApp messages; why symptomatic patients going into care homes were not tested; how the UK Government might have affected Welsh efforts to control the pandemic; and why Wales’ “firebreak” lockdown was not longer.
We now know how the inquiry is probing the structural issues that may have impacted the Welsh Government’s actions, as well as ministers’ capacity and judgement in making massive decisions during the pandemic in the name of our nation.
No matter how well prepared they are, it is bound to be a very difficult week particularly for Mr Gething, who was health minister during Covid and who could be the new Welsh Labour leader a week today, and for the man he hopes to replace as First Minister, Mr Drakeford.
But it is likely to be even harder for the families who have lost loved ones during the pandemic, who will see senior ministers’ feet held to the fire over decisions which would reshape their lives forever. They are the ones, more than any of us, for whom proper answers will be expected.