Boris Johnson’s Desperate Change of Direction on Coronavirus
England has had the highest excess mortality rate in Europe during the pandemic. No wonder Boris Johnson is desperate to do things differently.
Locked down in the North.
Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images EuropeBack in April, Britain’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam told a news conference that the U.K.’s relative performance in combating the coronavirus would become clear only once there were comparative figures on excess mortality (deaths above a five-year average). Shortly afterward, the government stopped showing charts with comparative death rates altogether.
It wasn’t hard to see why: The emerging trends were deeply unflattering to Britain. But Boris Johnson’s administration also had a point. Covid-related deaths are recorded unevenly across countries, making comparisons difficult. Pressed on the issue, the prime minister said there would be time for drawing conclusions about relative performance later and he promised an independent investigation.