A Tentative Study On The Reasons Of The UK’s Inefficiency In Handling The COVID-19 Pandemic

From 2019 to 2020,the rapid spread of the COVID-19 was raging globally,and it has not yet been controlled.Up to January 16,2021,more than 100,000 people in the UK have died from the new coronavirus.The United Kingdom has the most significant number of deaths,except for the United States.As the first developed country with a world-renowned medical system,the United Kingdom failed to control the pandemic in time when faced with the COVID-19.Instead,the virus spread across the country,resulting in thousands of deaths of people who could have been prevented from infection,and the pandemic has rapidly intensified.In the face of high mortality and low cure rates,the British government failed to respond effectively,causing farreaching economic and social consequences.The reasons behind it are thoughtprovoking.Based on the investigation and analysis of literature and historical data such as monographs,newspapers and magazines,and public opinion surveys,this article believes that there are three reasons for the UK’s inability to contain the COVID-19:one is the internal problems of the British government,the second is improper antiepidemic measures,and the third is that the British people do not cooperate.The first chapter of the thesis mainly explores the problems that have arisen within the British government,which makes it unable to concentrate on fighting the epidemic.The first problem is the instability of Boris Johnson’s cabinet;the second is the contradiction between the central and local governments;the third is the impact of the Brexit incident.Chapter Two mainly analyzes the improper anti-epidemic measures.The thesis points out that,on the one hand,due to the influence of 40 years of neoliberal ideology,the British government made the wrong anti-epidemic strategy when containing the COVID-19,which accelerated the spread of the virus.On the other hand,the National Health Service system affected by the austerity policy is unable to cope with the sudden health crisis.The third chapter mainly analyzes the behavior of the British people during the epidemic.Due to their pursuit of freedom and dissatisfaction with the government,many people did not abide by the quarantine policy,which exacerbated the deterioration of the COVID-19 in the UK.