The Welsh government responded to the pandemic with “sloth-like urgency”, according to the country’s Covid bereaved families group.

The comments were made by Kirsten Heaven, counsel for the Covid-19 Bereaved Families Cymru, on the final day of the inquiry in Cardiff. She added that the Welsh government had tried “to hide from the Welsh people their chaotic response”.

In her closing statement, the barrister singled out Vaughan Gething, the health minister during the pandemic, and Mark Drakeford, the outgoing first minister, for failures to heed warnings that asymptomatic transmission of the virus was occurring in early 2020.

Heaven said Gething “was presented in this inquiry with a wealth of evidence demonstrating a growing awareness of asymptomatic transmission from as early as 4 February 2020”.

Continuing, Heaven said: “It is difficult to understand then, how Mr. Gething could think it’s appropriate to make a public press statement on 2 May 2020, stating, quote: ‘At the moment, the evidence does not support blanket testing of everyone who does not have symptoms’.”

Drakeford, meanwhile, was criticised by Heaven for telling the public that mass testing was not needed in April 2020, when he was aware that asymptomatic transmission was likely occurring.

The barrister asked: “How could Mr. Drakeford have been so ignorant of what the evidence and the science showed?”

She added that he “did not tell the Welsh people the unvarnished truth, which was that there was evidence that the virus might be spreading asymptomatically and that testing was crucial”.

She added that “government decision makers could and should have adopted a precautionary approach. The failure to do so is unacceptable and had devastating consequences in Wales.”

Over 12,500 people have died of Covid in Wales.

As three weeks of hearings in Wales came to an end, the spotlight was again turned towards the Welsh government’s lack of transparency over its use of Whatsapp during the pandemic.

Heaven said the bereaved families regretted “that this inquiry, and indeed this module has been forced to spend so much time asking about missing evidence and destroyed WhatsApps”. She added: “The Welsh government has consistently sought to deflect blame by asserting, what appears to have been a party line, that decision making was not made on WhatsApp.”

Earlier this week Vaughan Gething said the fact his WhatsApp messages from the time are missing is “a point of embarrassment”.

Drakeford was also criticised for his attitude during his evidence session at the inquiry.

Heaven said the first minister was “very dismissive” of evidence given by a senior Public Health Wales member, Quentin Sandifer. Sandifer had criticised a lack of action by the Welsh government in January and February 2020.

Heaven said Drakeford had in fact agreed with Sandifer that little was being done early in 2020, adding: “It might be suggested that rather than galavanting around Brussels attending cultural events on St. David’s Day on 4 March 2020, Mr. Drakeford would have better served the Welsh people by attending Cobra and also communicating with public health Wales”.

Over the last three weeks the inquiry has heard how Welsh politicians took action to stop the initial spread of Covid later than their UK counterparts, and this came up again today.

“The Welsh government’s decisions on 22nd and the 29th of April 2020 to test everyone being discharged to a care home […] was a change that came later in Wales compared to England,” Heaven said. “Similarly, the decision to extend testing towards staff and residents in care homes was not taken until 16 May, slower than all the other three nations. Why did the Welsh government simply wait for leadership from the UK government on these matters?” Heaven asked.

The inquiry also heard a closing statement from the Trades Union Congress (TUC), who took issue with the time it took for the Welsh government to provide financial support to those self-isolating.

Sam Jacobs, representing the Wales TUC, said: “The UK government was far too slow to respond to this issue [self-isolation] with a financial support scheme not introduced until September 2020. But in Wales, the response was even slower. In Wales, the main financial support scheme was bought in a month later, and eight months after self-isolation was introduced.”

Jacobs also criticised Drakeford for being dismissive and for failing to learn lessons from other countries.

The inquiry continues.

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