A year ago today, the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic had yet to fully hit home with Britons.
While more than 3,000 had died in China by March 12, 2020, there had been just ten deaths in the UK.
Blissfully unaware of the scale of the carnage to come, tens of thousands flocked to the Cheltenham Festival, and pubs remained packed.
Boris Johnson had been under huge pressure to cancel mass gatherings but insisted he was following ‘scientific advice’ that banning such events would have ‘little effect on the spread’.
No one could really believe that measures being taken in other countries – from quarantine and school closures to the concept of lockdown – would become the ‘new normal’ here.
And mask-wearing en masse in Britain was certainly not on anyone’s radar – despite desperate measures being taken by some in China, who resorted to wearing plastic containers and bags on their heads to protect themselves from the virus due to a shortage of proper PPE.
However, a wave of panic-buying started to sweep the nation, with some seemingly more concerned about stocking up on toilet paper than social distancing – a strategy that had not truly taken hold by this point.
Meanwhile, public transport had become noticeably quieter, with eerily abandoned airports and train terminals, and ‘working from home’ was emerging as an option for some commuters.
There were signs of what was to come on March 23 when the PM ordered the country to stay at home in a historic television address to the nation.
After moving into the second phase of his ‘contain, delay, mitigate’ strategy, the Prime Minister issued his memorably sobering message that ‘many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time’.
Elsewhere, Italy’s death toll had topped 1,000, France closed all schools – and a then little-known chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, raised the coronavirus threat level to high…
Over the next ten days, MailOnline will look back on those last days of freedom as the UK marks one year of lockdown.
March 12, 2020: It’s day three of the Cheltenham Festival and revellers are celebrating St Patrick’s Day (early) at the races – despite PM facing calls to ban mass gatherings
Despite enormous pressure on Boris Johnson to cancel mass gatherings, thousands of spectators packed into the Cheltenham Festival on March 12, 2020. (Above, racegoers arrive wearing St Patrick’s Day-themed hats during day three of the racing event – dubbed St Patrick’s Thursday – several days ahead of the actual saint’s day on March 17)
Pictured: A view of the huge crowd ahead of the Marsh Novices’ Chase during day three of the festival at Cheltenham Racecourse – attended by 60,000 racegoers
A group of friends kicked up their heels and strode into the racecourse with confidence on March 12, unaware of the true scale of the Covid carnage to come
Allowing the Cheltenham Festival to go ahead was subsequently held by critics as a flashpoint and major error in the Government’s handling of the early phase of the crisis
Above, horses go to their posts for the Marsh Novices’ Chase during Day Three of the Cheltenham Festival. The PM said he was following ‘scientific advice’ that ‘banning such events would have little effect on the spread’, but appeared to cow slightly to public pressure as he said he was ‘considering’ the option
READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE
Despite enormous pressure on Boris Johnson to cancel mass gatherings, thousands of spectators packed into the Cheltenham Festival on Day Three of the races, dubbed St Patrick’s Thursday.
Revellers showed off their shamrocks, green frocks, and emerald accessories, while others wore flirty floral frocks or monochrome ensembles – as they celebrated ahead of the actual St Patrick’s day on March 17.
The event was down by less than 10,000 from last year’s record-breaking attendance, but picked up the following day for the Gold Cup.
Allowing the Cheltenham Festival to go ahead was subsequently held by critics as a flashpoint and major error in the Government’s handling of the early phase of the crisis.
The Prime Minister said he was following ‘scientific advice’ that ‘banning such events would have little effect on the spread’, but appeared to cow slightly to public pressure as he said he was ‘considering’ the option.
March 12, 2020: The death toll is just 10
At the third Downing Street coronavirus press briefing, which was still being attended in person by reporters, the Prime Minister issued his memorable and sobering prediction of more deaths. As UK deaths rose to 10, Mr Johnson declared coronavirus ‘the worst public health crisis for a generation’
Britain’s coronavirus death toll increased to 10 following the deaths of two people with underlying health conditions.
In these early stages of the pandemic, NHS officials provided more detail about the latest victims – a woman in her sixties from Essex and an 89-year-old who passed away in London.
Another 140 cases of the virus were confirmed, taking the total amount of people tested positive to 590 – 40 times the size of the outbreak from a fortnight before.
NHS England issued the below statements on behalf of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust – both in London – regarding two patients in their hospitals who had died and had tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19).
A spokesperson for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust said: ‘We can confirm that, sadly, an 89-year-old patient who was very unwell with underlying health conditions has passed away at Charing Cross Hospital.
‘The patient had tested positive for coronavirus. Our thoughts and condolences are with the patient’s family.’
Tony Chambers, interim chief executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: ‘We can confirm that a patient, who was in her sixties, and who tested positive for COVID-19 has sadly died at Queen’s Hospital. She had been very unwell with significant other health conditions.
‘Our thoughts and condolences are with the patient’s family at what is undoubtedly a very distressing time. We ask that the family’s privacy is respected.’
Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 Index suffered its biggest one-day fall since 1987 after plummeting 10.9 per cent as investors were rattled by travel restrictions imposed by Donald Trump in an attempt to halt the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic the day before.
March 12, 2020: Boris Johnson tells public that ‘many more families will lose loved ones’ – but faces backlash for not banning mass gatherings
At the third Downing Street coronavirus press briefing on March 12, 2020 (left), which was still being attended in person by reporters, the Prime Minister issued his memorable and sobering prediction of more deaths. As UK deaths rose to 10, Mr Johnson declared coronavirus ‘the worst public health crisis for a generation’. Boris Johnson is pictured today (right)
READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE
At the third Downing Street coronavirus press briefing, which was still being attended in person by reporters, the Prime Minister issued his memorable and sobering prediction of more deaths.
He said: ‘I must level with you, level with the British public, many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time.’
As UK deaths rose to 10, Mr Johnson declared coronavirus ‘the worst public health crisis for a generation’.
On this day, the Government also announced that anyone suffering coronavirus symptoms should isolate for seven days.
The PM said: ‘I’ve just chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency committee including ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
‘And it’s clear that coronavirus, COVID-19, continues and will continue to spread across the world and our country over the next few months. We’ve done what can be done to contain this disease and this has bought us valuable time.
‘But it is now a global pandemic.’
March 12, 2020: Prof Chris Whitty – a little-known name – raises the coronavirus threat level to high
Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty walk side by side to a Cobra meeting
READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE
England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty raised the risk of the coronavirus to high after admitting up to 10,000 people in Britain could be infected.
It followed a Cobra meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, which resolved that the Government’s strategy had moved from ‘containing’ the infection to ‘delaying’ it.
The Government also moved away from their strategy of tracing and testing every case, with Mr Whitty saying: ‘It is no longer necessary for us to identify every case.’
Social distancing was not fundamental to every life back then, as evidenced by a picture of Prof Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance striding side by side along Downing Street.
March 12, 2020: Nicola Sturgeon gazumps the PM and bans gatherings of more than 500
At a news conference in Edinburgh on March 12, 2020, Ms Sturgeon revealed her government was banning gatherings ‘that have the potential to have an impact on our frontline emergency services’
READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE
The First Minister said she was prohibiting mass gatherings to free up medics to deal with coronavirus cases.
Nicola Sturgeon stressed the (what what then considered drastic) move was not to curtail the spread of the disease but because large events require ambulances which may need to be diverted to help with the outbreak.
She said: ‘This is not a move that we are making because the science has told us it will have a significant impact on the spread of the virus: on the contrary, the scientists tell us it will not have a significant impact on the spread of the virus – although no significant impact does not equate to no impact at all,’ she said.
‘But there are wider reasons that I consider and have judged that are important in reaching this decision.’
On this day, Scotland’s coronavirus cases almost doubled from 36 to 60.
March 12, 2020: And meanwhile, elsewhere in the world…
Italy’s death toll tops 1,000
Italy announced that more than 1,000 people in the country had died from Covid, making it the second-worst hit country after China.
It came two days after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte imposed a nationwide lockdown, the world’s first, in order to stem the rise in cases and deaths.
France closes all schools
Emmanuel Macron announced that all French schools, nurseries and universities would close in four days’ time to slow the spread of the virus.
Employers were told to allow their staff to work from home ‘wherever possible’ and those aged over 70 or with underlying health conditions should stay at home ‘as much as they can’, he added.
‘This epidemic ..is the most grave public health crisis that France has known in a century,’ Macron told the nation.
A graphic on March 12, which showed the different lockdown measures in various countries. By that point Italy was in total lockdown
Expert predicts China is beyond the peak of the pandemic
Zhong Nanshan, a Chinese expert in infectious diseases who led the country’s response to SARS in 2003, said the worst of its epidemic has passed.
China reported just a handful of new cases each day and the number of patients in hospital in Hubei, where the disease first emerged, dropped to single figures, Zhong said.
He added that the pandemic could be ‘over by June’ if other countries followed the example set by China, including strict lockdowns.
Chinese people around the world started wearing plastic containers and bags over their heads to protect themselves from the coronavirus by early January
Photographs surfaced on social media which appear to show the desperate lengths people went to to avoid catching the deadly disease which has killed at least 3,000 people in China by mid-March last year
One picture showed a family, including a mother carrying her baby in a harness, wearing plastic bags in an airport
US troops brought the virus to Wuhan, China’s foreign minister suggests
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian suggested – without evidence – that US troops attending a military games in the city of Wuhan in December 2019 might have been responsible for importing Covid into the country.
He hit out after US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said the slow pace of China’s response had cost the world two months in preparing for the pandemic.
Zhao tweeted: ‘When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!’
Desperate Americans spark ‘bedlam’ at European airports (while in Britain Rishi Sunak plays down the prospect of banning flights)
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 30-day ban on most Europeans entering the United States sparked ‘bedlam’ at airports across the continent, with some travellers paying as much as $20,000 for plane tickets home.
Tourists from the U.S., who were left shrouded in confusion by the details of the proposal, scrambled to airports in the early hours of the morning uncertain about how the ban would impact their attempts to fly back home.
With President Trump declaring the ban would come into effect at ‘midnight’, confusion reigned over exactly how it would be implemented – including how the cut-off would apply across time zones and which routes Americans would be allowed to use to get home.
Meanwhile, in Britain, Rishi Sunak played down prospect of Britain copying Trump’s flight restriction on European flights.
Brussels International Airport: People wait to check in to a flight to Chicago at the United Airlines counter in the main terminal of Brussels International Airport in Brussels
March 12, 2020: Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson have caught Covid
Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson contracted Covid overseas and brought the virus into Australia.
The Hollywood power couple, who shook hands and posed for selfies with adoring locals across Australia’s east coast, announced their diagnosis just over a week after touching down in Brisbane.
‘Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches,’ Hanks wrote.
‘We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?’
Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson contracted Covid overseas and brought the virus into Australia
Panic-buying shoppers strip the shelves, as the Ocado website goes down and Tesco delivery slots are booked up days in advance
READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE
Supermarket bosses launched a plea for calm among shoppers after a wave of panic-buying around the country cleared shelves as people stockpiled for the expected coronavirus epidemic.
Meanwhile, Online supermarket retailer Ocado went ‘into meltdown’ as its website malfunctioned as panicked Brits bulk bought items.
It came as Love Island star Dani Dyer went to the shops to buy toilet roll and pasta – but arrived disappointed as the shelves lay bare.
Taking to Instagram, the 25-year-old said: ‘Anyone else panic buying? Is there anything I need to get? I am scared to be honest. 2020, what a year!’
‘I am going to stock up on toilet rolls, water and pasta. I’m going to follow the crowd.’
Supermarket bosses launched a plea for calm among shoppers after a wave of panic-buying around the country cleared shelves as people stockpiled for the expected coronavirus epidemic. (Above, shelves at a Tesco Extra store in Surrey Quays Shopping Centre were near enough empty on March 12 last year)
Panic-buying Britons are seen in a Tesco in London, forming a huge queue as some push trolleys piled high with essentials during the pandemic hysteria
No stockpiling here: Dani Dyer was devastated on March 12 when she went to the supermarket to ‘panic buy’ toilet roll and pasta but discovers the shelves were empty
Shoppers queuing outside a Savers supermarket in Wood Green, London, as they tried to get their hands on toilet roll, hand sanitiser and tinned goods in mid-March, 2020
In Tesco Extra in Surrey Quays, southeast London, shoppers bought in bulk like never before
FTSE 100 suffers its second-worst day in its HISTORY as coronavirus wipes £160billion off shares with a 10.9% drop
Britain’s stock market suffered its worst day since the 1987 financial crisis as it shed £160billion and tanked 11 per cent in what was dubbed the New Black Monday.
Investors in London were rattled by the World Health Organization’s upgrade of the coronavirus outbreak to a global pandemic as markets plunged.
Global markets were also ‘spooked’ after President Donald Trump dramatically announced he was shutting the US border to travellers from mainland Europe.
As Prime Minister Boris Johnson followed suit by calling the coronavirus outbreak the ‘worst public health crisis in a generation’, the FTSE tanked.
Investors in London were rattled by the World Health Organization’s upgrade of the coronavirus outbreak to a global pandemic as markets plunged
Passengers speak of abandoned airports, rail stations and roads
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Passengers noticed a visible impact on Britain’s transport network as coronavirus caused terrified Britons to abandon their usual travel plans.
The London Underground appeared markedly less busy as more people opted to work from home in a desperate bid to avoid coming into contact with the deadly disease.
Elsewhere, Heathrow Airport looked almost empty as it was revealed there has been a 4.8 per cent year-on-year decline in passenger numbers in February due to the virus.
In Birmingham, ‘worried’ commuters spoke of ’empty trains’ and ‘cancelled meetings’ as they warned of ‘a tough couple of months’ ahead.
There was a noticeably smaller number of passengers arriving at Gatwick Airport on March 12 as panic over coronavirus spread across Britain
The entrance to Gatwick’s South Terminal looked almost empty on March 12 with only two passengers seen in this image
Hundreds of thousands of parents demand schools are CLOSED – with no idea of the months of Zoom lessons chaos that lie ahead
The petition, started by Sami Attout, urged Boris Johnson to shut down schools and colleges ‘in the coming weeks of as soon as possible’, to prevent the spread of Covid19
Mr Johnson refused to bow to growing calls for schools to be shut, despite a petition of more than 350,000 signatories urging him to do so.
A spokesman for the Department for Education insisted institutions would remain open, unless advised otherwise.
Irish PM Leo Varadkar – who is no longer the premier – declared that schools, colleges and childcare facilities were to close for two weeks.
Despite the PM’s laid-back approach, Manchester Metropolitan University announced an end to face-to-face teaching, while Christ’s Hospital school in Horsham, West Sussex, sent hundreds of pupils home.
Public Health England wrote in a blog: ‘Closing schools can be disruptive for both children and parents so this is something we would need to consider very carefully.’
NHS makes a call to arms, telling all medics they will have to do tasks they aren’t trained for
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Britain’s chief medics put the NHS on war footing by telling all doctors and healthcare workers they would need to be drafted into the frontline to fight Covid amid fears up to 80 per cent of Britain could be infected.
In a dramatic call to arms, tens of thousands of medics were told they could be mobilised to work in ‘unfamiliar’ areas of hospitals and perform tasks they weren’t necessarily trained for.
The chief medical officers for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland told staff to be prepared, warning the NHS will be put under ‘extreme pressure’ because of the ‘abnormal emergency’.
The chief medical officers for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland wrote to doctors warning that coronavirus would put healthcare under ‘extreme pressure’. (Pictured, Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty)
Revealed, the letter in full. It begins: ‘If COVID-19 becomes an established significant epidemic in the UK, NHS and HSC services in primary and secondary care and public health across four nations will be put under extreme pressure’
Labour axes live event to unveil Jeremy Corbyn’s successor…
Three MPs were in the running for the vital post: shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer (centre), shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey (left) and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy (right)
READ THE ORIGINAL HERE
Jeremy Corbyn remained firmly cast into the political wilderness on March 12, 2020, and was not even a Labour MP.
But he was still leader of the party, albeit watching the race to succeed him following a crushing election defeat.
An event had been scheduled for April 4 to announce the results of the contest between Sir Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.
A party spokesperson said: ‘This is not a decision we have taken lightly.
‘Our priority is the wellbeing of our members and staff, and ensuring we fully contribute to the collective effort to protect public health.’
In the end, Sir Keir emerged victorious and delivered his victory speech virtually. To this day he has not given a speech to a live audience as Labour leader.
Nadine Dorries sparks a Westminster Covid crisis
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
An unnamed cabinet minister was awaiting results of a coronavirus test after going into self-isolation the night before.
They had come into contact with health minister Nadine Dorries, who was the first MP to contract the disease.
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen also confirmed he was self-isolating after having lunch with Ms Dorries.
Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg insisted it was of ‘fundamental importance that we keep’ Parliament open.
He told MPs that Parliament should ‘go ahead at the same pace as the rest of the country’ and suggested opening the windows to keep the Commons ventilated.
He said: ‘There should not be a difference in how Parliament is behaving from the advice that is being given to our constituents and I think that is important – we shouldn’t try and seek to be a special case for ourselves.’
Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin urged the Government and parliamentary authorities to ‘keep the show on the road’ by keeping Parliament open.
Health Minister Nadine Dorries became the first politician to be diagnosed with the disease, causing alarm in Parliament
Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg on March 12 insisted it was of ‘fundamental importance that we keep’ Parliament open
Gary Lineker and Piers Morgan lead calls for the football season to be cancelled, as UEFA decides whether to postpone Euro 2020
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Gary Lineker and Piers Morgan were among the celebrities to call for the football calendar to be suspended worldwide due to the Covid outbreak.
Meanwhile, UEFA held crisis talks over Euro 2020 – which was meant to start on June 12.
The Euros would go on to be suspended, with the start-date now pencilled in as June 11, 2021 – while thankfully for football fans the domestic season was allowed to continue.
Now, the showpiece Euros final at Wembley in July could be played in front of a full-house of 90,000 fans under plans to create an app that shows who has been vaccinated or tested negative for coronavirus.
Gary Lineker and Piers Morgan were among the celebrities to call for the football calendar to be suspended worldwide due to the Covid outbreak
TV chef James Martin leads tributes to restaurateur Michel Roux, 79, after he dies at home surrounded by family
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Television chef James Martin led tributes to restaurateur Michel Roux, who died aged 79 after a long battle with ill health.
The Frenchman was with his family in Bray, Berkshire, when he passed away following the lung condition idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Roux rose to fame when he founded Le Gavroche in London with his older brother Albert in 1967, followed by The Waterside Inn in Bray in 1972.
In the inaugural Michelin Guide, published in 1974, The Waterside Inn was awarded one star, then two in 1977 and three in 1985.
Legendary chef Michel Roux died at home aged 79 after a long battle with ill health. The Frenchman was with his family in Bray, Berkshire, when he passed away following the lung condition idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
… and The Weekend is at No1 with Blinding Lights
Blinding Lights by The Weekend closed out its second consecutive week at No1 – and would go on to another week at the top spot the week after.
It first reached No1 in early February, but was briefly knocked off by Billie Eilish’s No Time To Die, the theme song to the next James Bond movie – which still has not been released because of the pandemic.