Tories had a warning
Years of austerity already meant Britain was ill-equipped to handle any major health crisis.
Ministers will argue that it is impossible to plan for every unexpected event.
But a leaked document reveals the Cabinet Office was warned last year that it needed to step up its preparations for a pandemic.
In particular, the risk assessment set out the importance of ensuring there was sufficient personal protective equipment, the capacity to carry out testing and tracing and an action plan to help Brits overseas get home.
These are three of the areas where the Government has fallen short.
At some point ministers need to explain who saw this advice and who was responsible for implementing its recommendations.
This document adds even more weight to the case for a public inquiry, when the crisis is over, into the Government’s handling of it.
Dismal Donald
Donald Trump may be regarded as a joke by most of the world but in America he still has a base of loyal supporters.
This loyalty is why his uninformed suggestion that disinfectant could treat coronavirus is so dangerous.
There are already enough bogus remedies on the internet without the President adding his own potentially deadly advice.
Trump dismissed the outbreak as a hoax before claiming it would be over by Easter.
He has put the lives of Americans at risk by encouraging quack remedies and urging his followers to defy the lockdown.
The coronavirus has offered conclusive proof of what was obvious from the beginning – he is totally unfit for office.
Here’s to Lynn
Watchdog presenter Lynn Faulds Wood had a glittering career as a journalist, broadcaster and campaigner.
She raised awareness of bowel cancer at a time when nobody dared talk about the condition, saving thousands of lives.
