So why is coronavirus killing so many more people in the UK than in Ireland? This article (I think is spot on) points to a delay in the UK acting appropriately.
The next article might explain why this was the case.
https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/14/coronavirus-uk-ireland-delay?__twitter_impression=true

The battle at the heart of British science over coronavirus.
Different scientific opinions based on different modelling. https://www.ft.com/content/1e390ac6-7e2c-11ea-8fdb-7ec06edeef84

This thread is not about finger pointing but to try and help understand why the UK may be one of the most affected countries in the world with COVID during phase 1.
Perhaps it might mean we will be less affected during the next phases?