Why? Because the response from those whose first duty was to protect the public was “too little, too late”, according to the damning findings of the Covid-19 Inquiry.

And that was because no one in government had the foggiest idea of the threat, failed to properly prepare, and was then unable to grasp the seriousness of the response required.

In short, they dithered, hesitated, and dallied. And it needlessly killed.

Baroness Heather Hallett, who led the monstrously expensive probe, said evidence suggested that had the first mandatory lockdown been introduced a week earlier there would have been approximately 23,000 fewer deaths in England during the first wave of infections.

It will remain a scandal indelibly linked to then prime minister Boris Johnson, and his philandering health secretary Matt Hancock, but many others shoulder blame too.

And if that wasn’t enough, some of those who were found wanting were later found partying.

Mr Johnson was handed a fixed penalty notice for attending a lockdown-breaking party in June 2020, along with his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

A year later Mr Hancock’s political career was torpedoed after he admitted breaking social distancing guidance after pictures showed him in a passionate clinch inside the Department of Health with then aide and now partner Gina Coladangelo.

He said he had “let people down” but his Cabinet colleague at the time, Robert Jenrick, resisted calls for him to resign saying: “There’s a task to be done (and) Matt is on the job doing that.”

After his affair was exposed father-of-three Mr Hancock was forced to run home and tell his wife Martha their 15-year marriage was over.

He was eventually forced to quit in disgrace but later appeared on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! bagging a reported £400,000 appearance fee.

Public anger and ridicule remain. And rightly so.

The arrogance with which the pandemic was tackled perhaps goes a long way to explain the chasm that now exists between the public and MPs. It created such a deep disconnect, such resentment, it may never be repaired.

The shambles in Whitehall – and those of the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – meant there was no appreciation of the serious and immediate threat in the first three months of 2020.

What on earth must those who lost loved ones think now?

Nonsensical diktats saw infected OAPs sent from hospitals to care homes. When restrictions were eased some were allowed in, but only to see their nearest and dearest in sheds, behind perspex screens, to shout through a window, or in person but only in the company of security.

The public had to queue – in spaces of 2m if individuals were not in the same household or support bubble – while children were locked out of schools and playgrounds roped off.

During appearances before the inquiry Mr Hancock tried to paint himself as a victim of circumstances.

While it is true no one saw Covid coming, complacency – at levels – meant the UK was a mess when it erupted.

No amount of apologies can ever come close to bringing comfort or closure to those who were banned from attending a loved one’s funeral, a pregnancy scan, a birth, or to hold a relative’s hand as they stepped inside a hospital frightened and alone to start cancer treatment.

The inquiry has cost taxpayers £200m offering plenty of criticism, but there has been no accountability. There probably never will be.

What will infuriate many millions – for a long time yet – is the duplicity and deceitfulness with which Mr Hancock ordered the country to “stay home, save lives and protect the NHS” while cheating on his wife at work.

He subsequently claimed he was in love and helpless.

But it remains a grave insult to those who loved their families just as much but were banned from seeing them.

Few will ever forget – and it will take much longer, if ever, for people to forgive.