A leading public health expert said Friday that Britain likely has the highest coronavirus death rate in Europe due to what he described as “system errors,” while the government defended its record in responding to the pandemic.
Anthony Costello, director of the Institute for Global Health at University College London, said the U.K. “could see 40,000 deaths” by the time the first wave of the country’s outbreak is over.
The British government reported that as of Thursday, 13,729 people had died in U.K. hospitals after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The number does not include hundreds, and maybe thousands, of virus-related deaths in nursing homes and other settings. Costello has been a vocal critic of the government’s strategy, saying