Report concludes UK waited too long for virus lockdown

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A U.K. parliamentary report has concluded that Britain’s Conservative government waited too long to impose a lockdown early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The report Tuesday says that caused the nation to miss a chance to contain the disease and led to thousands of unnecessary COVID-19 deaths. A joint report from the House of Commons’ science and health committees says the deadly delay resulted from ministers’ failure to question the recommendations of scientific advisers, resulting in a dangerous level of “groupthink.” That caused British authorities to dismiss the more aggressive virus strategies adopted in Asia. It was only when the National Health Service risked being overwhelmed by rapidly rising infections that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government finally ordered a lockdown.