Theresa May criticizes 'inability to forge coherent international response' to COVID-19

Former British Prime Minister Theresa May has slammed world leaders for their response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In her opinion piece, published in a British daily on May 6, the veteran leader criticized global leaders for their “inability to forge a coherent international response”. She asserted that while researchers and scientists were working together regardless of boundaries, politicians were unable to do so.

“A polarized politics has taken hold. It views the world through a prism of winners and losers and sees compromise and cooperation as a sign of weakness,” May wrote.

May slams world leaders

Though she acknowledged that there were "real questions" about the initial response by the Chinese government, allowing it to become a fault line in international relations was a "mistake". Also, amid ongoing tiff between WHO and the US, May wrote that "frustrations could be channelled into reforming the organisation" and not "denigrating the concept of international co-operation.”

This comes as the pandemic, that emerged in last year in China has spiralled out to kill 258,354 and infect 3,727,993 people across the world. Meanwhile, in British territory, 194,990 have tested positive while 29,427 have died. This comes as the country's health secretary reportedly said that national lockdown rules were “for everyone,” after one of the government’s key scientific advisers quit for receiving secret visits from his girlfriend amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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Imperial College epidemiologist Neil Ferguson developed models that predicted hundreds of thousands would die unless the U.K. imposed drastic restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus. His advice was key in triggering Britain's lockdown in March. Under the rules, people are barred from visiting friends and family that they don’t live with. However, a British daily reported that a woman he is in a relationship with had crossed London to visit him at his home. Following the incident, the scientist quit the government’s scientific advisory panel, international media reported. 

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