(C) OpenDemocracy This story was originally published by OpenDemocracy and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Covid inquiry: Wales’ chief scientific adviser implied virus was ‘someone else’s problem’ [1] [] Date: 2024-02 Wales’ chief scientific adviser implied Covid was “somebody else’s problem”, according to a leading scientist for the devolved administration. Robert Hoyle, the head of science at the Welsh Government Office for Science, told today’s UK Covid-19 inquiry hearing that Peter Halligan, the country’s top scientific adviser, “could and should have done more” to tackle the virus. Hoyle explained that he began monitoring the progress of Covid as early as December 2019, but was left disappointed when he approached Halligan about taking steps to slow its spread in Wales. Hoyle told the inquiry: “I went out of my way to encourage him [Halligan], engage in this, to do things. Get our free Daily Email Get one whole story, direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up now “He eventually took that advice, but not until very late in the day. I think he could and should have done more.” Module 2B of the inquiry, focussing on the Welsh government’s response to the pandemic started on Tuesday with claims senior government figures may have deleted key WhatsApp messages. Hoyle also claimed that expert advisers to the Welsh government had failed to properly assess Covid measures such as national lockdowns – saying ministers’ suggestions had not been met with any “hard challenge”. “There was plenty of ‘soft challenge’,” he told the hearing, “but really ‘hard challenge’ I didn’t really feel was sufficient.” He added: “There were certainly debates and it was done in a very collegiate manner. “But I can remember on occasion there was serious challenge, really off the wall, and I felt that wasn't particularly well received. “There was a lot of encouragement for soft challenge, but not really hard – challenge of the type that was, you know, questioning whether lockdown at all was a good idea.” Despite this, Hoyle denied suggestions that expert committees advising the devolved administration had been used simply to ‘rubber stamp’ official guidance. Asked by inquiry counsel Tom Poole KC about a suggestion in his witness statement the “value of science was not understood by decision-makers in Wales”, Hoyle said ministers in Cardiff had sought advice on Covid-related matters. He said the remark was intended as a “general comment about scientific advice, generally, informing policy and strategy within Welsh government”. Hoyle also conceded some measures he suggested could have been implemented earlier, such as a lockdown, but would likely not have been “acceptable” to the general public at that stage of the pandemic. Tomorrow, the inquiry is expected to hear from Dr Roland Salmon, former director of communicable diseases for Public Health Wales, who argued against lockdowns. Instead, he called for the UK to follow the example set by Sweden, where restrictions were limited and most bars, restaurants, schools and other public spaces remained open during the initial stages of the pandemic. Hoyle said: “In the early days, it looked like they [Sweden] were handling the pandemic more effectively. “However, when we dug into it a bit more detail, it became obvious the number of single occupancy households in Sweden is much higher … so they had a degree of built-in self-isolation that many other countries didn't have and don't have, which meant that you can't make direct comparisons.” The inquiry continues. openDemocracy is fundraising to pay reporters to cover every day of the public hearings. Please support us by donating here. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/covid-inquiry-wales-peter-halligan-someone-elses-problem-robert-hoyle/ Published and (C) by OpenDemocracy Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/