UK scraps public health body amid criticized virus response The British government is scrapping a public health agency that has taken blame for the country’s uneven response to the coronavirusLONDON -- The British government announced Tuesday it is scrapping a public health agency that has taken blame for the country’s uneven response to the coronavirus. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the work of Public Health England will become part of a new body, the National Institute for Health Protection, which will guard against infectious diseases and biosecurity threats. Hancock said it would learn from public health agencies in South Korea and Germany, which have been praised for their strong response to the pandemic. Public Health England has been criticized for taking an overly centralized approach to testing and contact-tracing, and of abandoning widespread testing for the virus in mid-March because it lacked the diagnostic capacity. Its defenders argue that Britain’s Conservative governments have been cutting public health budgets for years, leaving the country ill-prepared to deal with the pandemic.

Source: ABC News August 18, 2020 14:44 UTC