Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Paragraph: 72
It is now apparent that many more COVID-19 cases were imported to the UK from...
Conclusion
It is now apparent that many more COVID-19 cases were imported to the UK from Europe in mid-March than was estimated at the time, when, with the exception of Italy, the focus remained largely on potential importations of the virus from Asia. As evidenced by genomic studies and referenced by Sir Patrick Vallance in oral evidence, a large number of instances of the virus—up to 1,356 importation strains and up to 10,000 cases—were imported during the period leading to, and following, the abandonment of special measures for international arrivals on 13 March, even though the overall number of people arriving in the UK was decreasing. Evidence shows it is highly likely that uncontrolled importations of the virus from European countries contributed to the rapid increase in the spread of the virus in mid-March, and the overall scale of the outbreak in the UK.
Paragraph Reference:
72
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The Government is grateful for the committee’s report. However, the Home Affairs Select Committee are incorrect in their assertions. Isolation guidance was not dropped on 13 March, it was superseded by the national stay at home guidance. As has been explained repeatedly to the committee this meant that anyone entering the country regardless of where they had travelled from, like the rest of the population, was required to self-isolate if they developed symptoms. All of our decisions throughout the pandemic have been informed by the science, with appropriate measures introduced at the right time to keep us all safe. The advice given by SAGE has always been based on the best evidence and data available at the time, and is a consensus arrived at by a group of leading scientists. The Government has consistently sought to make decisions taking into account the latest available scientific evidence and advice. During the contain phase of the outbreak we had enhanced monitoring at the borders to quickly identify symptomatic travellers from high risk areas and safely triage them into the health system. This was applied to those returning from Wuhan on 22 January and broadened to the whole of China on 25 January; Japan on 8 February, Iran on 25 February, northern Italy on 4 March and the whole of Italy on 5 March. On 12 March the Prime Minister announced the move from the contain to delay phase as there was sustained community transmission and a significant number of domestic cases