The Government was under-prepared for the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic and lacked a 'playbook' for dealing with key events that unfolded including mass school closures, a new report reveals today. Nevertheless, more detailed planning for the key impacts of a pandemic and of other high-impact low-likelihood events can improve government’s ability to respond to future emergencies. In his forward to the report, Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said the pandemic had 'stress-tested the government’s ability to deal with unforeseen events and potential shocks'. The Indian Covid variant has already overtaken the Kent strain in 23 English local authorities and has spread to 40 per cent of the country. It adds that local authorities' finances have been 'scarred by the pandemic and will not bounce back quickly once the pandemic ends'.

Source: Daily Mail May 19, 2021 01:04 UTC