U.K. Coronavirus Deaths Pass Italy, With 32,000 Suspected Fatalities

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K.'s coronavirus death toll soared passed that of Italy, making it the worst hit country in Europe, as a top British official expressed regret over the lack of testing in the early stages of the outbreak.

While international comparisons are difficult, official data showed there were 29,427 confirmed coronavirus deaths in the U.K., with thousands more suspected. The grim milestone will add to the pressure on Boris Johnson's government, which has faced scrutiny over what some politicians and scientists have warned was a slow response to the pandemic.

The prime minister ordered a nationwide lockdown at a later stage than other countries, and most controversially of all, the government abandoned efforts to test, track and trace cases of coronavirus in the community. Speaking on Tuesday, the government's chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, acknowledged this had made the fight against the virus harder.

“Probably in the early phases, and I've said this before, if we'd managed to ramp up testing capacity quicker it would have been beneficial,” he told a parliamentary committee. “It's clear you need lots of testing for this.”

‘Completely Wrong'

Vallance insisted it was “completely wrong” to say testing was “the answer” to avoiding deaths, arguing it had to be part of a package of measures. But in recent weeks ministers have dramatically ramped up the U.K.'s testing capacity, from around 10,000 per day at the start of April, to more than 100,000 a day by the end of the month.

U.K. Scientists Advised Ministers to Ease Lockdown Gradually

Officials now face questions over why they did not boost testing capacity earlier in the year before Covid-19 started to spread freely in the U.K., given the virus was clearly a threat.

Also on Tuesday:

Other data from U.K. authorities showed Covid-19 is now suspected of playing a role in the death of 32,290 people. That is higher than the official death toll, which is based on confirmed cases
Papers released by the government's scientific advisers showed modeling on March 26 put an “optimistic” scenario at 10,000 deaths
Another papers from the so-called SAGE committee suggested any easing of the lockdown should be gradual, because reimposing restrictions if virus rise again would damage public trust
Vallance said a second wave of coronavirus could hit in the winter, piling pressure on the National Health Service at a time when seasonal flu is also likely to be a challenge
China warned the U.K. that British political critics risk poisoning relations between the two countries with their attacks on its handling of the virus outbreak in Wuhan

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the death toll was “a massive tragedy, something in this country on this scale we've never seen before.” He argued it is not possible to make reliable comparisons with other countries at this stage, suggesting British data may simply be more accurate than elsewhere.

The government's deputy chief scientific adviser, Angela McLean, acknowledged the total number of U.K. deaths is “higher than we would wish.” She also said rigorous testing, tracking and tracing coronavirus cases had proved highly effective in South Korea, a country that should serve as “a fine example” to Britain.

“We should try to emulate what they have achieved,” she said.