By The prime minister has backed a national day of reflection to mark the anniversary of the first coronavirus lockdown.
Charities and politicians are urging members of the public to hold a minute’s silence at noon on 23 March, and to contact someone they know who is grieving.
A “national day of reflection” will be held to mark the first anniversary and a year since Britain went into lockdown and in remembrance of the 125,000 people who have died during the coronavirus pandemic.
A minute’s silence will be observed at noon on 23 March to remember the thousands who have died.
Many coronavirus anniversaries have been passed since the start of 2021 – including of the first cases of Covid-19 being identified in the UK, the first death from the virus, and some sectors of the economy being wound down and businesses told to close.
Minute silence to be held to mark first anniversary of Covid
Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said: “We need to reflect on the pandemic’s deep toll, mourn those we’ve lost, and mark the service and sacrifice of staff throughout the NHS.
“It’s also a moment to acknowledge how in adversity we saw strength, as friends, neighbours and communities have come together to help each other through the nation’s worst ordeal since the second world war. While we need continuing vigilance against this virus, the remarkable NHS vaccination programme now brings hope of better times to come.”
Since the pandemic began, over 23million people in the UK alone have received their first does of a Coronavirus vaccine in a fight to combat the virus. However, thousands of people have been left with long-term effects from the disease.
The current lockdown has been a success but the UK is “not out of the woods” yet, the head of the Office for National Statistics has warned.
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