Coronavirus pandemic: Two years on from first national lockdown

Two years ago today the country went into its first national lockdown.

Prime minister Boris Johnson gave a live televised address from Downing Street, announcing an initial three-week lockdown in an attempt to stop the virus from spreading.

There were just four reasons you could leave your home - to shop for essential items, as infrequently as possible; daily exercise, once a day, alone or with members of your household; a medical need; and to travel to and from essential work.

The following day, March 24, newburytoday reported that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in West Berkshire had increased to 10, according to Public Health England statistics.

The first case in the district was reported on March 13.

People across West Berkshire went to their front doors and windows at 8pm on the Thursday of that same week to give a heartfelt round of applause for NHS staff working through the coronavirus pandemic.

In a show of unity during the lockdown crisis, households showed their appreciation for our health worker heroes across the country.

Home schooling and home working quickly became the norm in 2020, with council meetings also beginning to take place online.

The planned three-week lockdown lasted until the summer, with people who couldn't work from home allowed to return to offices from May and a phased reopening of schools to some year groups in June and July.

On November 5, a second national lockdown - lasting four weeks - came into force in England, followed by a third in January 2021 after tiered restrictions had been introduced before Christmas.

Schools returned in March last year, but this week some pupils are back to online learning as cases across the area continue to rise, causing staff shortages in schools.

As of today (Wednesday) the number of lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in West Berkshire stands at 44,777 - an increase of 155 in the last 24 hours.

West Berkshire's seven-day rolling rate per 100,000 population is 1,259 with 1,995 cases in the seven days to March 18.

We are looking for any people who have never come out of lockdown since March 23, 2020. If that's you and you would like to talk to us about your experience, please email newsdesk@newburynews.co.uk