MINISTERS may have overstated the dangers of Covid-19 in public health messaging, potentially making people "incredibly afraid," according to professor Chris Whitty.
Speaking at the Covid inquiry, the chief medical officer said that the advice to stay home during the pandemic led to people with heart attacks avoiding hospitals, reported The Times.
When asked if the UK struck the right balance in encouraging people to seek medical care while also urging them to protect the NHS, Whitty admitted the messaging was not clear enough. He said the government may have "pushed too strongly" on the risks of the virus and failed to stress that emergency care was still available.
Whitty explained that there was "reasonable evidence" that fewer people sought hospital care for heart attacks than expected. “Some of those people were staying at home,” he said, noting that many of these cases involved treatable conditions.
Addressing whether the government exaggerated the risks, Whitty noted it was important for the public to understand the gravity of the situation. He reflected on the difficult balance, acknowledging that some may argue the risks were overstated. “Arguably some people would say we, if anything, overdid it,” he said.
Whitty defended the necessity of lockdowns, describing the situation in March 2020 as “absolutely catastrophic.” He called the pandemic the “largest medical emergency since the Second World War” and noted the heavy toll on NHS staff, particularly before vaccines became available, the newspaper reported.
The inquiry also heard from professor Kevin Fong, former national clinical adviser for NHS emergency preparedness, who described the pandemic as like facing a "terrorist attack every day."
He said the scale of death during Covid was unlike anything intensive care teams had seen before, with some hospitals reporting as many as ten deaths in a single shift.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)