“The human cost of Covid”: Inquiry launches final weeks of public hearings as thousands of stories reveal lasting impact of pandemic on society

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has begun three weeks of public hearings for its tenth and final investigation. 

Public hearings for Module 10 ‘Impact on Society’ take place from Monday 16 February to Thursday 5 March 2026, and will examine the impact of Covid-19 on people across the United Kingdom with a particular focus on key workers, the most vulnerable, the bereaved and mental health and wellbeing. 

The Inquiry will also seek to identify where society’s strengths, resilience and innovation reduced any negative impacts. Over the next three weeks, roughly 50 witnesses are due to give evidence at the hearing centre with the Inquiry having also  received around 60 witness statements.

The Module 10 investigation draws on the Inquiry’s extensive public engagement. Tens of thousands of individuals have shared their pandemic experiences through Każda historia ma znaczenie, the largest public engagement exercise ever undertaken by a UK public inquiry. Three Every Story Matters records will be entered into evidence on the first day of Module 10 public hearings, giving unprecedented insight into people’s experiences of bereavement during the pandemic, the impact of the pandemic on people’s mental health and the experiences of key workers. 

The Inquiry also commissioned a rigorous review of scientific research to examine the impacts of the pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of adults across the UK.

In addition, more than 100 organisations – representing people from different backgrounds, regions, faiths and circumstances – to better understand the impact of the pandemic on society and different sectors as widely as possible.

Organisations took part in nine roundtable discussions:

• Faith groups and places of worship
• Trade unions and other organisations representing key workers 
• Ochrona i wsparcie dla ofiar przemocy domowej 
• Wsparcie w żałobie 
• Prisons, immigration and asylum and those affected by the operation of the justice system 
• Liderzy biznesu z branży hotelarskiej, handlu detalicznego, podróży i turystyki 
• Sport i rekreacja na poziomie społeczności 
• Instytucje kulturalne 
• Mieszkalnictwo i bezdomność 

Nine roundtable reports will be entered into evidence on the first day of public hearings and will join the Every Story Matters records, witness testimony and other evidence submitted to the Inquiry to create an unprecedented record of the UK’s pandemic experience. 

Module 10 hearings will be held at the Inquiry’s hearing centre in Paddington, London and are open for the public to attend. They will be the final weeks of public hearings held by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry before it turns its attention to publishing its final eight reports: five this year, three in the first half of 2027.

For each of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s investigations, the Inquiry will produce a report compiled by the Chair and published as soon as they are ready. The Inquiry’s first report, Module 1 ‘Odporność i gotowość’, was published in July 2024. Its second report, Module 2 ‘Podstawowe procesy decyzyjne w Wielkiej Brytanii i zarządzanie polityczne’ across all four nations of the UK, was published in November 2025. 

Further reports will be published throughout the rest of 2026 and into the early part of 2027, beginning with Module 3, Healthcare Systems on Thursday 19 March 2026.