6 possible reasons why the UK has become the nation with the highest death toll in Europe in recent days.
The UK becomes the country with the highest death toll in Europe nowadays. Tens of thousands of UK families mourning the loss of loved ones. Dominic Raab said that 30,615 people have died because of Covid-19. But the real numbers will be far higher from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) each week showing more fatalities than those announced on a daily basis.
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Why UK has the highest death toll in Europe: 6 reasons
We may see some factors which contribute to the UK become the highest death toll in Europe.
First, Prime Minister Boris Johnson held back when other European countries introducing lockdowns. Schools remained open, and large events like the Cheltenham Festival, which attracted more than 60,000 people each day, went ahead. It wasn’t until March 23 that Johnson introduced the lockdown, banning Brits from leaving their homes unless it was for essential journeys or exercise.
Professor Sir David King, the UK’s former chief scientific adviser said that the lockdown came “too late” and this delay had cost lives. Then Professor Martin McKee, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told that the delay was the key reason for the high death toll.
Second, the government was too slow to bring in widespread testing. If cases could be identified quickly, patients could be isolated, meaning they were less likely to continue spreading the disease. This is particularly important with a virus that does not always show symptoms, meaning people do not know they’re passing it on.
Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan, who returned to her role as an A&E doctor to face the crisis told Health Secretary Matt Hancock this week that the testing strategy has been “non-existent”.
Third, airports stayed open when many countries closed their airports and ports, or introduced strict quarantine rules for those who arrive. It is estimated that 15,000 people are still arriving by plane each day, even though the country has been in lockdown for six weeks.
Before the pandemic, more than 100,000 were arriving at Heathrow Airport alone, and experts believe Covid-19 reached the UK before Chinese authorities were even acknowledging that it could spread between people.
Fourth, the obesity rate can be a factor for the severity of the illness because of the risk of having a severe case of the disease.
Fifth, the UK’s ageing population can be a factor why UK become the country with the highest death toll in Europe. It because, tragically the elderly have been heaviest hit by the pandemic, with 40% of those dying aged over 80. The UK has an ageing population, with nearly 12 million people over the age of 65, of which 1.6 million are over 85.
Sixth, UK has a high population. Even in parts of the UK, there are highly populated. Then tens of thousands commute into the capital each day, using the same overcrowded network of trains and buses. This helped the spread of Covid-19 hugely, with the virus able to move from person-to-person at an alarming rate before social distancing measures were introduced. It was little surprise that London was the epicentre in the early days of the pandemic, with Birmingham and Manchester soon showing their own tragic rise in death rates.
