Loved ones remembered on fifth anniversary of start of Covid

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - LONDON — Former Children's Laureate Michael Rosen said that "a shadow passed over us" and recited a moving poem of Covid pandemic memories to mark the fifth anniversary since the outbreak of the deadly virus.

Emotional scenes played out across the UK on Sunday as the bereaved and their communities hosted hundreds of events to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the pandemic in a day of reflection.

Rosen, 78, was rushed to hospital with Covid and put into an induced coma in intensive care in March 2020.

Speaking at a memorial event in Staffordshire, the poet said "thanks to the expertise and care I received, I came through, but I look back over my shoulder and think of those who didn't".

The annual day is one of the recommendations set out by the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "As we mark five years since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, I know for many there is deep grief and loss that may never be relieved."

In London, sobbing could be heard as bereaved relatives, led by a Highland piper, joined well wishers to walk beside the National Covid Memorial Wall.

They passed 3,000 photographs of the faces of some of those who died, which represents just over 1% of the total death toll from Covid in the UK, organisers said.

Choir song and a water cannon salute on the Thames from a London Fire Brigade fireboat brought the event to a close.

A minute's silence was held after the chimes of Big Ben and long-stemmed red carnations were cast into the River Thames.

Lynn Jones fought back tears as she remembered her "fit and healthy" 66-year-old husband Gareth who died after "spending seven weeks in hospital battling the virus on his own".

She told those gathered at the London event that the Covid wall "is an expression of so many emotions — rage, love, grief, pain and unbearable sadness".

Sisters Colette Woodall, Julie Harvey, and Jacquie McEvoy — who were originally from Liverpool — travelled from their homes in London and Wiltshire to pay their respects to their mother Joan Aspinall, who died in September 2021.

"So many people here are traumatised by what has happened," Ms Woodall said.

"Today has been absolutely poignant."

She added: "It is important for us to be here to represent all of those faces on the wall and to be among like-minded people, some of whom are very angry and upset."

Well-wishers at the National Memorial Arboretum in Burton-on-Trent heard a new poem from the writer, poet, broadcaster and former Children's Laureate Michael Rosen, who spent time in hospital with Covid during the pandemic and was placed into an induced coma.

"A shadow passed over us and hundreds of thousands of people felt the sudden and unexpected loss of loved ones," he said.

"Thanks to the expertise and care I received, I came through, but I look back over my shoulder and think of those who didn't" he said.

Across the UK, just under 227,000 people died who had the virus listed as a cause of death — with more than 16,000 in Scotland and more than 12,300 people in Wales.

Mary Kedward in Newport is a retired nurse who has reflected on her role helping out during the pandemic at Cambridge's Royal Papworth Hospital and later in the south-Wales city.

Ms Kedward said she vaccinated people in the Welsh valleys and "that was the best bit, talking to the housebound as they hadn't seen people for months", adding that it was a "privilege".

She adds that her mother died of Covid-19 in a care home and she "did not have a proper funeral", but instead had a remembrance on the video-calling platform Skype.

Families who lost loved ones said on Thursday that they were angry there would be no nationwide anniversary events in Wales today, but the Welsh government has previously said events were being led by community groups.

Maureen Oxley, who lives near Blackpool, said her and her husband separated in 2018 but at the end of February 2020, he invited her to stay with him during the first lockdown "so that we could not face it alone".

She told the BBC that she would "never forget" the address Boris Johnson delivered to the nation and the Queen's address.

"We sat and held hands as we watched and wondered what the future held," Ms Oxley added.

"We shall never forget those days," she said. "It was bittersweet but we are grateful we came out of the other end together."

In Scotland, a choir sang and a poem was read to take people into a minute's silence at the reflection event in Glasgow Green.

Doves were released and the event also included a wreath being laid, a plaque unveiling and individual yellow roses being left in memory of loved ones.

Earlier, Scotland's First Minister John Swinney, who took part in the Glasgow ceremony, sent his "deepest condolences" to people who lost loved ones during the pandemic.

Speaking before the service he added: "Children stopped going to school, many shops and businesses were closed, and we were no longer able to spend time with friends and family as normal."

The ceremony was organized by Connie McCready, who is the co-founder of Covid-19 families Scotland. Her fiance, Jim Russell, died in May 2020 after spending 35 days in hospital and was one of many remembered at the event.

"This day of reflection is a time to remember that behind every statistic, there is a person," she said.

"For every family member and community affected, we reflect on their pain, their love and their enduring grief."

Other events include a special prayer service at Manchester Cathedral and a remembrance concert with music, poems and readings in Belfast. — BBC