The shortcomings and weaknesses in the UK’s preparedness for the pandemic are expected to be outlined in the first report to be published by the Covid Inquiry.
Baroness Hallett, who chairs the public inquiry, will present her findings at the luncheon.
In her report, she discusses the state of the healthcare system, the stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the planning that was in place.
It is the first of at least nine reports covering everything from political decision-making to vaccinations and the impact on children.
During hearings for this module last year, 69 experts and politicians testified, including former Prime Minister David Cameron and Health Ministers Jeremy Hunt and Matt Hancock.
The research found that British preparations were largely focused on the presence of a flu virus.
This meant that people became overly reliant on vaccines and antivirals that would have no effect on the Covid virus. It also meant that only limited measures could be taken to contain the spread of a new virus.
These countries suppressed the first wave of Covid more effectively by introducing targeted testing, tracing and quarantine systems and imposing border controls.
And this helped reduce deaths and limit the use of lockdowns.
Another issue Lady Hallett is likely to raise is why the government failed to act on recommendations made when the civil service ran Exercise Alice in 2016, a simulation of a major MERS outbreak.
Very critical
Witnesses were also critical of the cuts and the state they had left the NHS and public health system in.
Sir Michael Marmot, professor of epidemiology at University College, said the UK entered the pandemic with “stretched” public services, leaving the country unable to cope with the pandemic.
But George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer between 2010 and 2016, told the inquiry that the cuts had ensured the UK had the financial resources to deal with the pandemic.
The role of Brexit could also play a role.
Image source, Pirahna Photography
But former minister Michael Gove said Brexit planning had resulted in more staff being added and departments working more closely together.
And former Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the same work had secured medical supply chains and prevented hospitals running out of intensive care drugs.
Prof Adam Kucharski from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who advised the government during the pandemic, told BBC News that preparation is key and the report’s findings require action.
“We will face more pandemic threats in the future,” he said.
“We need to ask ourselves the question: ‘If there is a pandemic next year, what do we want a good response to look like and what do we need to be doing now to ensure that response is feasible?’”
‘The saving’
Trained army doctor Dr Saleyha Ahsan, who worked in hospitals during the first two waves of Covid and is now part of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group, said it felt like there had been “no planning” after she lost her father to the virus, with doctors often struggling to get hold of the right PPE.
“The rules were changing every day for the first few weeks, it was ridiculous,” she said.
“We wore the most fragile personal protective equipment, just a small surgical mask with a white apron.
“It felt like we just had to do it, while the people who were pushed forward were the healthcare workers.”
“It’s so incredibly important for those of us who have come through it, who have lost because of it, who have had health problems because of it, to really realize where we went wrong and who was responsible.”