Liverpool joined towns and cities across the country to remember those who have died from Covid-19 in the last year, write Samuel Hodgkiss & Jorge Capera.
A minute’s silence was held at midday to mark the anniversary of the first national lockdown. It was a time for people to reflect on the grief and pain felt by many over the last 12 months.
Later this evening at 8pm, people are being encouraged to stand on their doorsteps with candles, phone flashlights and torches to shine a beacon of light and remembrance to those we have lost.
In the Liverpool City Region, a total of 4,500 people have died because of coronavirus in the last year, which is equivalent of one in every five deaths recorded across the city. Almost 150,000 people in the UK have died due to coronavirus.
Liverpool suburb Knowsley has seen some of the highest Covid-19 infection rates in the entire UK.
Whilst these figures are shocking, Liverpool can be proud of its fight against the global pandemic. With the city being used as a pilot study for mass testing, it helped reduce the total number of cases in the city region whilst showing the rest of the country that mass testing is an effective method to counter the spread of the virus.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a roadmap out of a third lockdown with gradual easing of restrictions towards June 21 when it is hoped all measures can be lifted. This will very much depend on the continued roll out of the national vaccine programme that is currently operating ahead of schedule.
With the equivalent of every adult in Liverpool, Southampton and Oxford being vaccinated each day, over 28 million people have already received their first dose of the vaccine.
Watch Liverpool fall quiet on this day of remembrance>>>