Probably because an apology also reads like an admission of guilt.
Certainly it is construed as such in the ongoing power battle. Whichever way the other parties would jump on it as proof of incompetence.
I remember one of the things I was told by one of my first bosses was never admit a mistake as it's seen as weakness. Didn't agree with him then, don't agree with it now.
The only way we get better is to admit when we're wrong and learn from it. Hence why G is still wrong so often.
Somehow we need to factor in that mistakes will be made, especially if things are unfamiliar or new.
I think the problem with this is that a lot of the mistakes during the pandemic weren't 'honest' mistakes and were not done with the best interests of the people at heart. Failure to stop travel or implement lockdown was done with political motivation rather than public safety. A lot of the response to dealing with it was done with economic motivation in enriching friends and donors more than providing what was needed to deal with the crisis.
So in this instance guilt is an apt word because they knew they should have taken different actions and chose not to, knowing full well people would die as a result.