Scottish Government Ignored Early Covid Warnings, Inquiry Told

Unnecessary stay-at-home orders and school closures had 'zero public health benefit', says Professor Mark Woolhouse.

Professor Mark Woolhouse, a member of the Scottish Government COVID-19 Advisory Group, testified in the UK Covid Inquiry that early warnings about the coronavirus were not heeded by senior Scottish government officials.
Woolhouse claimed that hundreds of people may have died after being told not to 'bother' the NHS, and that stay-at-home orders and cessation of outdoor activities were unnecessary.
He criticized the Scottish government's policy that no Covid death was 'acceptable', describing it as 'empty rhetoric' that 'devalues non-Covid deaths'.
Woolhouse argued that the virus 'transmits very poorly' outdoors, and that measures such as closing schools and keeping people indoors had 'pretty much zero public health benefit'.
He also expressed concern about the lack of consideration for the mental health of the population during the lockdown.