Mistakes do happen matty, but as I've said all along. No government or organisation can respond to this sort of crisis, unless they have conducted full and comprehensive strategic planning.
Shell use this as well recognised Corporate Strategy planning model. It's not unreasonable to expect a pandemic (there have been 3 in the last decade), so you set out various scenarios from best to worst case. Someone posted a link to a study George Bush had ordered in the States about responding to a pandemic. That is what good government should do (even if he is a war mongering clown).
Then you plan your response, based on the case that occurs.
That allows a calm, controlled response. Pre-planning will significantly reduce the number of mistakes down the line.
Reacting to events on the spot, causes chaos and massive mistakes. The situation in our care homes is going to explode on the government. Elderly people will die in their thousands.