Prof Woolhouse explains the "scale of the crisis didn't seem to be landing with government at that time" and that the harms the virus could cause and the harm caused by the measures were "immense".
The academic says: "The stakes were absolutely enormous."
He says measures like school closures were "very, very harmful" and they couldn't lock down for ever.
The exit strategy would determine how long the lockdown should be, he says.
Prof Woolhouse says his team were frantically looking at when best to go into lockdown.
"No-one around the world had ever contemplated lockdown.
"We were frantically trying to catch up."
Academic said chief medical officer was 'not listening'
paCopyright: pa
Professor Woolhouse says his
frustration led him to contact the UK government's former chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies.
He asked Dame Sally if she could "get Catherine [Calderwood] to listen to me because she's not listening".
The inquiry is then shown an email exchange between Dame Sally and
Dr Calderwood, with Prof Woolhouse copied in.
"Mark has emailed in the very recent past with some very
helpful modelling estimates which I have fed into our system here but as yet we
have not met," wrote Dr Calderwood.
She and Prof Woolhouse went on to meet on 28 February 2020. In
advance of the meeting, he sent the then chief medical officer
a briefing note.
"It was clear to me at that stage that we were going to have
to walk a tightrope between an epidemic that took off basically and overwhelmed the health service, or didn't," he told Jamie Dawson KC.
Officials 'froze' in the face of the evidence, agrees witness
Jamie Dawson KC turns to the response from the then chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood.
He says Dr Calderwood broadly said they were "actively considering the details" of the outbreak.
Prof Woolhouse says: "I don't regard actively considering as sufficient."
In his email in January he had warned that over a year, based on modelling "the health system will become completely overwhelmed".
Mr Dawson asks whether "the medical advisers of the
government [had] at least the ability to do the basic epidemiology and
arithmetic, but are you suggesting that, given the number that came up, they
rather froze?"
"Yes."
Academic warned chief medical officer in January 2020
The inquiry is shown an email from January 2020 in which Prof Woolhouse warned Scotland's chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood about a new coronavirus centred in China.
He refers to new evidence of human to human transmission, suggesting a pandemic affecting Scotland was likely with some fatalities among vulnerable individuals.
Prof Woolhouse suggests that some surveillance systems be put in place ahead of the virus arriving.
He tells the inquiry he later came to the view that the dangers were not fully realised by government officials.
"I didn't get the impression, that it was in my view, treating the situation with the seriousness or the urgency that I felt it needed," he said.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Prof Woolhouse is first witness to give evidence today
BBCCopyright: BBC
First up this morning is Professor Mark
Woolhouse, who is a professor of infectious
disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh.
Last year Prof Woolhouse, who sat on one of the government's Covid committees providing advice into the scientific advisory group Sage, told the inquiry he was not aware of anyone looking at the wider harms of the pandemic.
Three years on, those harms are all too clear. Rising rates of mental health problems in the young, record-high hospital waiting lists and continued attendance problems at school.
The headlines from yesterday's session
Video content
Video caption: Watch: Leitch denies giving Yousaf Covid rule 'workaround' at inquiryWatch: Leitch denies giving Yousaf Covid rule 'workaround' at inquiry
Scotland's national clinical director admitted he used an auto-delete function on a Covid WhatsApp chat during the pandemic
Prof Jason Leitch said a WhatsApp comment he made, previously shown at the inquiry, about deleting messages as a "pre-bed ritual" was a "flippant exaggeration"
He insisted he was following Scottish government guidance on informal messages
Prof Leitch also denied giving the then-Health Secretary Humza Yousaf a workaround for wearing masks at an event
A message showed he advised Humza Yousaf to keep a drink in his hand at all times to remain "exempt" from specific mask rules at a dinner event
Prof Leitch told the now first minister "literally no-one" followed official guidance about wearing a mask when not seated at dinner, but he denied giving a "workaround"
The inquiry heard that former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Prof Devi Sridhar she could contact her using a personal email address
Prof Sridhar also told the inquiry she experienced death threats, racism and sexism while making media appearances during the pandemic
Who is giving evidence today?
The UK Covid inquiry will today focus on the independent advisory evidence given to the Scottish government during the pandemic:
Prof Mark
Woolhouse who is a professor of infectious
disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh.
Prof Stephen
Reicher, a professor of psychology at the University of St
Andrews.
In the afternoon we'll hear from Dr.
Pablo Grez from the University of Strathclyde.
Prof Susan McVie, professor
of quantitative criminology at the University of Edinburgh.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the UK Covid Inquiry as it sits in Edinburgh for the seventh day on Wednesday 24 January 2024.
Former judge Lady Hallett will continue to chair this second week of public hearings at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
We’ll bring you live reports, background and analysis of the proceedings.
If you want to watch live from about 10:00, stick with us and press the play icon at the top of the page.
Live Reporting
All times stated are UK
'The stakes were absolutely enormous'
Prof Woolhouse explains the "scale of the crisis didn't seem to be landing with government at that time" and that the harms the virus could cause and the harm caused by the measures were "immense".
The academic says: "The stakes were absolutely enormous."
He says measures like school closures were "very, very harmful" and they couldn't lock down for ever.
The exit strategy would determine how long the lockdown should be, he says.
Prof Woolhouse says his team were frantically looking at when best to go into lockdown.
"No-one around the world had ever contemplated lockdown.
"We were frantically trying to catch up."
Academic said chief medical officer was 'not listening'
Professor Woolhouse says his frustration led him to contact the UK government's former chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies.
He asked Dame Sally if she could "get Catherine [Calderwood] to listen to me because she's not listening".
The inquiry is then shown an email exchange between Dame Sally and Dr Calderwood, with Prof Woolhouse copied in.
"Mark has emailed in the very recent past with some very helpful modelling estimates which I have fed into our system here but as yet we have not met," wrote Dr Calderwood.
She and Prof Woolhouse went on to meet on 28 February 2020. In advance of the meeting, he sent the then chief medical officer a briefing note.
"It was clear to me at that stage that we were going to have to walk a tightrope between an epidemic that took off basically and overwhelmed the health service, or didn't," he told Jamie Dawson KC.
Officials 'froze' in the face of the evidence, agrees witness
Jamie Dawson KC turns to the response from the then chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood.
He says Dr Calderwood broadly said they were "actively considering the details" of the outbreak.
Prof Woolhouse says: "I don't regard actively considering as sufficient."
In his email in January he had warned that over a year, based on modelling "the health system will become completely overwhelmed".
Mr Dawson asks whether "the medical advisers of the government [had] at least the ability to do the basic epidemiology and arithmetic, but are you suggesting that, given the number that came up, they rather froze?"
"Yes."
Academic warned chief medical officer in January 2020
The inquiry is shown an email from January 2020 in which Prof Woolhouse warned Scotland's chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood about a new coronavirus centred in China.
He refers to new evidence of human to human transmission, suggesting a pandemic affecting Scotland was likely with some fatalities among vulnerable individuals.
Prof Woolhouse suggests that some surveillance systems be put in place ahead of the virus arriving.
He tells the inquiry he later came to the view that the dangers were not fully realised by government officials.
"I didn't get the impression, that it was in my view, treating the situation with the seriousness or the urgency that I felt it needed," he said.
Prof Woolhouse is first witness to give evidence today
First up this morning is Professor Mark Woolhouse, who is a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh.
Last year Prof Woolhouse, who sat on one of the government's Covid committees providing advice into the scientific advisory group Sage, told the inquiry he was not aware of anyone looking at the wider harms of the pandemic.
Three years on, those harms are all too clear. Rising rates of mental health problems in the young, record-high hospital waiting lists and continued attendance problems at school.
The headlines from yesterday's session
Video content
Ahead of today's evidence session, here's a reminder of the headlines from the inquiry on Tuesday 23 January 2024.
Who is giving evidence today?
The UK Covid inquiry will today focus on the independent advisory evidence given to the Scottish government during the pandemic:
Prof Mark Woolhouse who is a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh.
Prof Stephen Reicher, a professor of psychology at the University of St Andrews.
In the afternoon we'll hear from Dr. Pablo Grez from the University of Strathclyde.
Prof Susan McVie, professor of quantitative criminology at the University of Edinburgh.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the UK Covid Inquiry as it sits in Edinburgh for the seventh day on Wednesday 24 January 2024.
Former judge Lady Hallett will continue to chair this second week of public hearings at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
We’ll bring you live reports, background and analysis of the proceedings.
If you want to watch live from about 10:00, stick with us and press the play icon at the top of the page.