How coronavirus made i de it a year like no other
| Published date | 23 March 2021 |
Our worlds have been completely transformed, with ever-changing restrictions as infection rates have gone up and down, and hospitals have, at times, been really struggling to cope with the volume of admissions.
Schoolchildren have spent more time than most would desire being home schooled, while many office based workers have been working from home.
Furlough, clapping for carers, Zoom calls and Covid lockdown tiers were all foreign concepts a year ago.
But not anymore. Around a month ago the Government announced its roadmap on the planned easing of restrictions.
And with the vaccine rollout, hope is on the horizon.
This is how an unprecedented year unfolded.
¦Outbreak begins in China December 31, 2019: The outbreak of a mystery respiratory illness in the central Chinese city of Wuhan leaves 27 people with viral pneumonia - seven of whom are in a serious condition in hospital. ¦ Possible new coronavirus identified January 8, 2020: Chinese state broadcaster CCTV identifies the possible cause as a new type of coronavirus - one of the main causes of the common cold, but which normally only produces mild symptoms. ¦ First person dies January 11: A 61-year-old man with "severe underlying health issues" becomes the first person to die from the outbreak. Chinese officials say the threat of human-to-human transmission remains low. ¦ First case in UK January 31: The first people in England - two members of the same family - test positive for coronavirus. ¦ First British death February 28: The first British death from coronavirus is reported. He was a passenger on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
¦First deaths on UK soil March 5: The first person in the UK dies with coronavirus. The woman, in her 70s, died in the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. A second person, a man in his 80s, dies the following day.
¦Two cases confirmed on Teesside March 11: Two people tested positive for coronavirus in Stockton, the first confirmed cases on Teesside. The cases are the first two to be recorded on Teesside, and come the day after a person was confirmed to have contracted the disease in County Durham. ¦ Pandemic declared March 11: The Covid-19 outbreak is declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.
¦ Panic buying March 13: There is panic buying in Teesside shops as concern grows over the impact of the virus. Demand for toilet roll and food staples such as pasta, tinned tomatoes and hand wash leave shelves empty for the first time in living memory.
¦ Football suspended March 13: All Premier League and EFL games - including all Boro matches - are suspended until April 3.T he suspension is later extended before the season finally resumes behind closed doors.
¦ First Teesside patient dies March 16: It is confirmed that a patient has died from the coronavirus at Stockton's North Tees University Hospital. The elderly patient had been on the isolation ward at the hospital.
¦ Lockdown measures set out March 16: Boris Johnson announces the start of what will become increasingly strict lockdown measures aimed at 'suppressing' the virus.
Experts say that without action, half a million people could die.
The initial measures urge the public should work from home where possible and avoid congregating in bars, restaurants and theatres.
¦ Furlough March 17: Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveils a £330bn package to help businesses furlough staff, which will see the taxpayer pay 80% of a worker's wage while they are inactive.
¦Closures ordered and pupils leave schools March 20: Boris Johnson orders pubs and restaurants across the country to close.
Parents also drop off their children for their last day at school before they close to all except the children of key workers.
It will be up to six months before many pupils return to the...
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