Making the Public Health Mandate Work: COVID-19 and the Challenges Revealed in the UK

Any mandate to protect the health of the public is inherently
moral. It creates a clear obligation for the state to provide the necessary
care for the well-being of all members of society. The collective
benefit trumps individual choice. Where such a mandate exists,
there is also power to do whatever is necessary to achieve the aims
of the mandate. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought
these tensions within public health to the fore. The UK government
has acquired unprecedented powers to manage the pandemic under
the Coronavirus Act 2020. This paper examines this legislation and
evaluates the system failures and successes that have been revealed
by the pandemic.