TWELVE months ago the words lockdown, social distancing, and Covid-19 were as rare as a Boris Johnson hairbrush.
Now we use them daily as we live through a global pandemic that has changed all our lives in ways we could never have imagined.
Who would have thought back in early March 2020 what lay ahead? More than 100,000 deaths in the UK alone, Christmas without loved ones, furlough schemes, the wearing of masks to buy a pint of milk - and the hoarding of giant packs of loo roll.
One year ago - on March 5 - I started my Coronavirus blog. It coincided with the first UK death and my own trip to the GP (remember that?) when he shocked me with his almost Armageddon-like premonition of the coming pandemic.
When lockdown was announced on March 23 I was placed on furlough at The Press. I was gutted - as a journalist I felt robbed of the chance to report and reflect on what was the biggest story of my life. The blog proved a satisfying outlet for my need to record the moment.
From the outset, I kept a tally of cases and deaths, worldwide and for the UK: the scale of which is beyond shocking.
After a year of blogging, I've clicked through my posts to pick out some key moments from the past 12 months...
March 5, 2020
Maxine on March 5 2020 - the day she begins her Coronavirus blog
"I ask him how bad this Coronavirus thingy will get.
Here’s What He Tells Me:
The high death toll in the UK will be because the NHS won’t be able to cope.
* The peak will be in May/June. A Levels and GCSEs probably won’t go ahead.
* Parliament may close because MPs will get infected.
* Lots of old people will die – meaning there will be lots of family homes available once this is all over.
Back at work, the doctor’s ominous forecast plays on my mind – and I just have to off load. Journalists are a sceptical bunch – and no-one shows much interest in what my doc has said.
It’s clear, no-one believes him. Like a virus, my colleague’s lack of concern is contagious. I feel a bit less worried. Maybe the doctor is wrong."
Cases worldwide: more than 96,500
Deaths worldwide: 3,300
Cases UK: 115
Deaths UK: One – first death is confirmed of a female patient in her 70s with underlying health conditions.
March 23, 2020
Lockdown Day - Stay at home order
Boris Johnson announces the first lockdown to the nation on March 23
"From behind a desk and in a room probably last seen in The King’s Speech, Boris (still looking like a Girls’ World doll that’s been attacked by an over zealous five-year-old ‘hairdresser’) spells out the most draconian measures a Prime Minister has announced in peacetime. Death rates from Coronavirus are rocketing in Italy, France and Spain, and Britain is said to be a couple of weeks behind. If the disease in Britain follows the same trajectory, the Government will be accused of squandering the precious time it had to try to get spread of the virus under control."
Cases worldwide: 354,677
Deaths worldwide: 15,436
Cases UK: 6,650
Deaths UK: 335
March 30, 2020
Lockdown Day 7: Washing The Groceries
Maxine's washed groceries left to dry!
"My mate, H, wipes down all deliveries with Dettol. She asks me if I am washing my shopping. I am not, but it is something I am considering."
Cases worldwide: 693, 282
Deaths worldwide: 33,106
Cases UK: 22,141
Deaths UK: 1,408
April 15, 2020
A 'ghost bus' whooshes through an empty York
"York has a new collection of ghost buses. We see them whooshing up and down our streets, eerily empty, going somewhere, but with no-one on board. But, like the buses, York’s streets are spookily quiet too. With people staying at home, the roads are empty. It’s just after 5.30pm and I am on Ouse Bridge in the middle of York. I have to stop and take it all in. I could count on my hand the number of people I see. A car is about as rare as a York City goal."
Cases worldwide: 1,914,916
Deaths worldwide: 123,010
Cases UK: 98,476
Deaths UK: 12,868
April 30, 2020
Lockdown Day 38 – A Patient Speaks
Inside the hospital isolation room of a Covid patient
“This virus really kicks the hell out of you. That’s the verdict of a friend of mine from my home city of Edinburgh, who is recovering from Covid-19. Tomorrow he is planning to give blood with a view to donating plasma which doctors believe might be beneficial in the treatment of the virus. He will be one of the first people in Scotland to do so."
Cases worldwide: 3,231,701
Deaths worldwide: 229,447
Cases UK: 171,253
Deaths UK: 26,771
June 1, 2020
Lockdown Day 70 – The Joy Of Six
As the first lockdown eases people enjoy meeting up outdoors under the new Rule of Six
"From today, in England, up to six people from six different households can meet outside while practising social distancing, under the latest relaxation of the UK’s Coronavirus lockdown rules.
It follows the first easing 19 days ago when we were allowed to meet one person from another household, return to work if possible, and get back to some sports such as golf and tennis.
If this past weekend was anything to go by, people have already jumped the gun and are started practising the ‘joy of six’ (and more) ahead of today."
Cases worldwide: 6,226,409
Deaths worldwide: 373,883
Cases UK: 276,332
Deaths UK: 39,045
July 27, 2020
Lockdown Day 126 – York Is Open Again
York busy again as we come out of lockdown
"So, York is open – but will it last? Local lockdowns have happened in some parts of England already in response to rises in the rate of Coronavirus."
Cases worldwide: 16,339,678
Deaths worldwide: 650,157
Cases UK: 300,111
Deaths UK: 45,759
August 17, 2020
Lockdown Day 147 – Exams U-Turn
Gavin Williamson announces an exams U-turn
"No one can argue that the A-levels results were a fiasco that could have been avoided.
The British government has today announced an exams U-turn – giving in to mounting public outrage. A-levels and GCSEs in England will now be based on teacher assessments. The exams U-turn is yet another mess up by the government that has struggled to cope with the challenges brought on by this pandemic. From the lack of PPE for frontline workers to the problems engulfing the track and trace system, not to mention the Covid death figures, which are among the worst in the world, this government has much to answer for. This lot are in charge of Brexit too. Heaven help us all."
Cases worldwide: 21,749,290
Deaths worldwide: 776,395
Cases UK: 319,197
Deaths UK: 41,369
September 21, 2020
Lockdown – Time For A Rethink?
Time for a rethink?
"I feel sick to my stomach thinking how the government has squandered the sacrifices we all made in the first lockdown. We stopped seeing our families and friends. People postponed their weddings. Families had to leave loved ones to die alone – and not attend funerals. These sacrifices brought infection rates down and bought time. Time to bring in a track, test and trace system which would allow us to open up the economy and cope through winter. But it’s just not worked. And it doesn’t look like we will have a viable system up and running any time soon."
Cases worldwide: 31,175,205
Deaths worldwide: 962,176
Cases UK: 398,625
Deaths UK: 41,788
December 8, 2020
First Covid vaccine is given today!
"Vaccine day has arrived – a V for Victory Day for sure. It’s a day we all hoped for but few dared believe would arrive this year. And yet here we are. Just nine months since the first case of Coronavirus was found in the UK (in York, just five minutes from where I live). And we are administering the first vaccine in the UK against this devastating virus. The Government cannot afford to mess up this vaccination programme."
Cases worldwide: 68,014,594
Deaths worldwide: 1,553,169
Cases UK: 1,754,881
Deaths UK: 62,130 – the fifth highest in the world behind US, Brazil, India and Mexico
February 22, 2021
Boris Johnson announces his roadmap to freedom on February 2021
"So Boris has painted the Yellow Brick Road outta here. Starting on March 8 with the reopening of schools in England, the Holy Grail of life returning back to normal is scheduled for midsummer: June 21. There are various pit stops in between, allowing for shops, pubs, gyms, and hairdressers, cinemas and theatres to open. All this good news seems almost too good to be true. But let’s just bask in these rays of hope while we can."
Cases worldwide: 111, 606, 254
Deaths worldwide: 2,470,466
UK cases: 4,138,225
UK deaths: 120,987
UK vaccinations: 17.7m
To read more of Maxine's blog visit www.maxinegordon.co.uk/coronavirus-lockdown-diary/
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