Four years ago at the end of February, a person returning to Wales from Italy was confirmed as suffering from Covid-19, The virus had taken hold in northern Italy then. A little over two weeks later, on March 15, a 68-year old woman from Wrexham became the first fatality, beginning a dark chapter in this nation’s history.

We are all still living with its effects today and, thanks to mass vaccinations, Covid-19 remains a far-less deadly threat.

The pandemic posed many nations with their greatest peacetime challenge since the Second World War. Here in Wales, the public inquiry into the pandemic is underway and so far, perhaps the most revealing information to yet emerge, is that our retiring First Minister did not expect that he and his Government would be front and centre in Wales’ management of the crisis. He and others fully expected Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Government to take the reins.

Perhaps, in hindsight, given that officials in Westminster seemed to make things up as they want along while those in 10 Downing Street didn’t know the rules or were pissed as mules as the crisis wore on, perhaps Wales being in charge of its own response was a good thing.

It’s worth bearing in mind the words of Rivka Gottlieb, the spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK. "Over 230,600 people have now died from Covid-19 in the UK, often in awful circumstances and with their loved ones unable to be at their side as they passed away. This appalling number of deaths was not inevitable; adequate PPE and testing, a swifter lockdown and properly funded services would have saved thousands of lives."

What the pandemic showed for Wales is we were woefully unprepared for such a public health crisis. And the chronic underfunding of our health service then has only continued to this day.

Clearly, politicians at Westminster and Cardiff Bay haven’t appreciated the lessons from the pain and suffering endured by all four years ago. And that’s a crying shame.