Covid-19 inquiry: Mark Drakeford, Vaughan Gething to face questions

Mark Drakeford during a briefing in the Covid pandemic

First Minister Mark Drakeford and his health minister at the pandemic's height will be questioned later on how well Wales was prepared for Covid-19.

Mr Drakeford and Vaughan Gething - health minister for five years until May 2021 - will both give evidence to the UK public inquiry in London.

A pandemic specialist from Public Health Wales will also be questioned.

This stage of the inquiry is only examining whether planning was properly done for the pandemic.

It will also question decision-making at all levels of government relating to planning, and aims to identify lessons that can be learnt.

Wales' chief medical officer Dr Sir Frank Atherton and former NHS Wales head Dr Andrew Goodall were questioned at the inquiry on Monday.

Sir Frank said at an official level "quite significant work" was going on around preparedness, but that a non-flu pandemic was discounted.

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"With the benefit of hindsight we could and should have paid more attention to the 'what if' questions - 'what if the virus was so different?'" he told the inquiry.

"At the time, I think it's fair to say that those measures had been considered and somewhat prematurely dismissed."

Sir Frank also said progress on planning for pandemic flu in Wales was held up by work to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.

Vaughan Gething was health minister for five years, until May 2021

Dr Goodall told the inquiry that not all the recommendations drawn up from "task and finish" groups to look into pandemic flu were implemented because they took too long.

At the start of the pandemic Sir Frank's office was "drowning in a sea of information," the chief medical officer told the inquiry on Monday.

He admitted it was under-resourced and things moved "very, very quickly" and "we couldn't even manage emails".

The inquiry will not deal with Wales' response to the pandemic until sessions are held in Cardiff early next year, while public hearings are scheduled to continue until summer 2026..

What are the Covid figures for Wales?

• At the height of the first wave of the pandemic, in April 2020, there were 70 deaths a day due to Covid, with the virus the underlying cause.

• There were more than 2,200 deaths due to Covid in Wales in the three months of the first wave (15 March to 15 June 2020).

• Deaths of care home residents involving Covid peaked in the week of 24 April, with 125 deaths.

• Excess deaths - the number of deaths above normal levels - were 61% higher involving care home residents in the first three months of the first wave.

• Covid mortality rates, adjusted for age and population profiles, across the whole of the pandemic are very similar in England and Wales, although in both nations are higher than in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

• Numbers of patients being primarily treated for Covid in hospital are currently very low - and weekly deaths due to Covid are in single figures.

• Scientists say Covid is expected to continue to plateau in Wales, although there is still uncertainty.

Both main opposition parties have repeated calls for a Wales-specific independent Covid inquiry.

This has also been the demand of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru group, with one member whose mother had died in a care home accusing ministers of acting "like headless chickens" through their lack of preparedness.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said he hoped Mr Drakeford and Mr Gething, now economy minister, would answer in full but said only a Welsh Covid inquiry could deliver "proper scrutiny" of the Welsh government's handling of the pandemic.

Plaid Cymru health spokesman Mabon ap Gwynfor said the inquiry would not adequately cover the decisions made in Wales during the pandemic in enough depth and questions would remain unanswered.