Given the importance of refining interventions to mitigate both impacts on public health and economic recovery, a review of social distancing measures came quite late. While the scientific approach quite rightly waits for the evidence before making a definitive recommendation, this often necessitates delay and may not produce conclusive results. The pandemic has demanded that policy be made and adapted on a faster timescale and in this instance the Government was too slow to respond. The UK response to covid-19: use of scientific advice 81 The Government should employ a more adaptive approach to non–pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing rules and commit to a review of the approach employed in the UK as compared with countries that dealt with the SARS and MERS outbreaks (such as the Republic of Korea), setting out the reasoning for differences in policy decisions. The outcome of this review should be published by the end of 2021.