UK action on coronavirus was “late” and has led to “carnage”, says Australia’s top doctor

Australia’s chief medical officer has described the United Kingdom’s unfolding situation in the fight against coronavirus as “carnage’, a result of acting too late.

Professor Brendan Murphy, who leads Australia’s medical response to the pandemic and gives regular public updates about the government’s efforts, made the remarks on Monday while addressing a New Zealand parliamentary committee looking in to that government’s Covid-19 action.

“If you go hard late, as the UK has done, you can just see what carnage you suffer on the way through,” he said.

As of Monday, the UK had recorded 88,621 cases of Covid-19, the condition brought about by infection of the coronavirus, and 11,329 deaths.

In comparison, Australia had recorded just 6,359 cases and 61 deaths, while New Zealand had 1,349 cases and only 5 deaths.

Speaking about Australia’s battle against coronaviris, which has included strict social distancing measures and the closing of Australia’s borders to foreign travellers, Professor Murphy told the committee that the country was in “for the long haul”.

“We will go harder if necessary; if we have to,” he said.

Last week the Australian government announced a number of so-called “rescue flights”, including from London, to bring home citizens stranded by the coronavirus crisis.