The failures and concerns highlighted by a senior coroner, Alison Mutch, following the deaths of two men, Anthony Slack and Leslie Harris, from Covid-19, have reinforced bereaved families’ calls for a government inquiry into the handling of the pandemic, and for more inquests.
Very few inquests have been held into deaths of people from coronavirus, following the then chief coroner’s guidance in March that Covid-19 is “a naturally occurring disease” and inquests are not normally necessary unless a person died due to additional factors, for example neglect.
Boris Johnson’s refusal to hold a rapid public inquiry after the first wave, combined with the lack of inquests, has prompted many bereaved families to complain that lessons were not learned in time to prevent thousands more people dying in a second wave.
A Guardian analysis of all coroners’ “prevention of future deaths” reports, which call on authorities to take action on concerns identified during inquests, found just two that followed deaths of people from Covid-19.
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