It's five years since the coronavirus pandemic swept the world, and arrived on UK shores. The whole world lived through unprecedented times as rules were implemented to save lives, athough hundreds of thousands sadly died in the pandemic.
As the fifth anniversary of the first lockdown approaches on March 23, CornwallLive is revisiting headlines which our reporters covered from the time. From the spreading virus which encroached across our borders, to the Conservative government response under Boris Johnson, the pandemic's strangeness soon became normal.
From 'lockdown' to 'tiers' to 'Eat Out To Help Out', the news coming through daily formed the backdrop to the tragic news of more than 232,000 deaths within a couple of years. Those with loved ones who died from Covid and complications related to the virus will live with the memory of those times and their grief forever.
For the rest of us, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic - and response - are still being felt across the globe, as people live on in a new world where 'working from home' remains commonplace and governments continue efforts behind the scenes to arrest the spread of any similar incidents in the future.
Here's how CornwallLive reported the Covid news on March 16, 2020.
Idiot smashes Rumours bar in Penzance's wash basin during coronavirus pandemic
A bar owner has slammed a “senseless” punter who smashed a wash basin amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Rumours in Penzance had to shut early on Friday night (March 13) and was also unable to host a children’s party the following day.
A CCTV clip shared by Rumours' owner Rob Matthews shows the agitated man on the phone before exchanging words with another customer and smashing the basin with his fist, destroying it in the process. The act of vandalism has left Rob furious, especially as he expects coronavirus to temporarily close the business before long.
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UK coronavirus chief adviser went to school in Cornwall
The man leading the UK's scientific response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic went to school in Cornwall. The Government's Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) and Head of Government Science and Engineering, Sir Patrick Vallance, has become a familiar sight on our televisions as the global crisis has deepened.
However, back in the 1970s, he was a familiar face at Truro School, where he was a pupil. Sir Patrick has explained that the Government's approach is about flattening the "broader peak" of the epidemic and developing an immunity among the population.
Cornwall Music Festival cancels due to coronavirus saying decision will be ‘financially costly’
The coronavirus pandemic led to the organisers of this week’s Cornwall Music Festival making the decision to cancel the 110-year-old event. The festival, which was due to run from March 16 to March 21, attracts hundreds to Truro Methodist Church.
Chairman David Hendry said: “Although there is no directive to cancel, we feel that in the current climate of concern regarding the spread of the coronavirus epidemic we wish to do all that we can to protect the people in our community.”
Cornwall gallery Anima Mundi reduces openings to ‘appointment only’ due to coronavirus pandemic
A contemporary art gallery in St Ives reduced its openings to ‘by appointment only’ due to the ‘significant risks’ of coronavirus spreading. Anima Mundi, at Street-An-Pol in the town, made the decision to postpone future gallery openings “despite current alarmingly lackadaisical UK government guidelines”.
Gallery director Joseph Clarke said: “Like many others across the globe we are monitoring the situation with deep concern and will assess the best time to restore operations as usual."
New Penzance to Isles of Scilly helicopter held up by coronavirus
The new helicopter service between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly started this week but with the wrong helicopter because of coronavirus. Penzance Helicopters expect to welcome their first passengers onboard for the new and only Isles of Scilly helicopter service, flying direct to Tresco and St Mary's this week.
The company said the service will go ahead even though it's not with the right helicopter. The delay to the arrival of the new AW139 helicopter has been blamed on current Chinese export restrictions linked to coronavirus control measures.
UK supermarkets' advice as shoppers asked to be considerate
Supermarkets across the UK come together to respond to the coronavirus crisis which is leaving many unable to complete their shopping. Shoppers have been emptying supermarket shelves for a couple of weeks now, leaving everything from toilet paper and hand sanitiser to pasta in short supply.
Sainsbury’s, Co-Op, Lidl, Tesco, Aldi, Waitrose, M&S, ASDA, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado and Costcutter signed a joint letter asking for customers' help. The letter said that shoppers need to be considerate to make sure there are enough supplies for everyone.
Coronavirus stops further Extinction Rebellion protests in Falmouth and Penryn
Extinction Rebellion in Falmouth and Penryn cancelled public activities to avoid exacerbating the coronavirus epidemic.
A spokesperson for XR in Falmouth & Penryn said: “We had advanced plans for actions to highlight the role of Barclays Bank in financing fossil fuel companies and the complicity of Asda and other supermarkets in destruction of the Amazon rainforest... However, we recognise that these public activities could have helped spread the virus and have therefore decided to postpone these events indefinitely.”
Extinction Rebellion, in Falmouth, Penryn and elsewhere, was arranging online discussions for their hundreds of members to determine how they can support local people as the epidemic spreads.
Read more about the story here.
Coronavirus - the changes to supermarkets' delivery services
Supermarkets made changes to the way they delivered food to people's homes. As coronavirus fears grew, more and more people were avoiding going out and turning to supermarkets' home delivery services.
Some customers had to wait up to a week for a delivery slot and supermarkets were working "at full capacity" to meet the increased demand.
UK needs ventilators to treat coronavirus as EU restricts exports
The NHS needs ventilators now more than anything else as it takes on the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. The EU announced it would be restricting exports of medical supplies to countries outside of the bloc.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the the EU Commission made the announcement that exports would be restricted yesterday on Twitter, saying the EU needed to "safeguard" its health workers n the frontline, with masks, gloves and protective garments. She said the EU was working with the industry to "ramp up" production, but needed to keep this equipment inside the EU.
Vital care charity for Cornwall’s vulnerable is preparing for over 70s to self-isolate
A Cornwall charity for the elderly put contingency plans in place to provide much-needed care should over 70s be asked to self-isolate. Elderly people were set to be told to stay inside for four months in a bid to reduce the coronavirus spread, according to ITV's political editor.
Robert Peston said that within five to 20 days, UK residents aged over 70 will be instructed to not leave their homes as part of a planned response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Age UK Cornwall and The Isles of Scilly is a local charity working to provide much-needed services and activities for older people and relies on the elderly being transported to one of its day centres for much-needed social care and support.
Fears over impact of coronavirus on tourism in Cornwall
As coronavirus continued to take hold, Cornwall's tourism boss admitted the outbreak has hit the county at the worst time of the year. After a quiet winter season, many business owners depend on an increase in visitors around Easter, particularly after making repairs or renovating in January and February.
Malcolm Bell, CEO at Visit Cornwall, explained that a number of postponements and cancellations pave the way for a "tough" few months for businesses.
He said: "It is getting obviously more depressing day by day - more worrying but at the moment people are down and enjoying it, especially a day like today. We are seeing an ever increasing growth in cancellations and postponements and a drop off in forward bookings for the next couple of months or more, so it will be a tough time and we do need the government to follow through on supporting businesses.
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The UK will never know how many people are infected
The true number of people in the UK who were infected with COVID-19 will never be known. A cross-government group has been set up to provide publicly-available estimates on the wider number of cases.
It will examine information from a variety of sources as only a small sample of people is actually being tested across the UK. Public Health England (PHE) says it has now shifted its focus from looking at close contacts of people who were infected to looking at outbreaks, such as those in care homes.
PHE says this is a "robust surveillance programme... which will help us to understand the level of virus circulating in the community."
Cornwall Iceland store introduces pensioners-only shopping hours during coronavirus outbreak
An Iceland store in Cornwall introduced pensioner-only shopping hours in a bid to help the elderly during the coronavirus outbreak. The manager at the Penzance store, Charlotte Priest, announced that only pensioners will be allowed into the supermarket between 9am and 11am on Wednesdays.
She said: "The decision has been made to open the store only to the elderly/pensioners on Wednesday between 9-11. It will be manned by a member of management who will only be letting the elderly in."
Visitor restrictions at Royal Cornwall Hospital as UK battles coronavirus
Royal Cornwall Hospital introduced new visitor restrictions in a bid to minimise the risk to patients during the national coronavirus outbreak. In a bid to protect patients, Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust urged relatives to keep visits to under one hour and for all children to stay away from the hospital.
Visiting hours were also reduced. A notice has been published on the trust's website urging members of the public to help "keep our hospitals running".
UK 'very rapidly' developing transformational coronavirus test
Public Health England was 'very rapidly' developing a 'transformational' coronavirus test that will allow the UK to check if people who have never shown any symptoms have previously been infected with COVID-19, the Government's Chief Medical Officer said. Professor Chris Whitty said the new test was under development while he defended the Government’s testing regime.
Just an hour or so earlier, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation had said: "Once again, our key message is: test, test, test."
He urged widespread testing to keep track of the coronavirus pandemic, saying WHO has shipped almost 1.5 millions tests to 120 countries. The call was in contrast to what was happening in the UK, where only the most serious cases were being followed up.
Click here for the full story.
Idris Elba tests positive for coronavirus
Award winning actor Idris Elba has tested positive for coronavirus. The Luther star, who is also a well-respected DJ and played at Boardmasters in 2018, received the results this morning (Monday, March 16).
He tweeted this afternoon: "This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus.
"Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing."
Schools across the country were due to remain open for the immediate future - but headteachers have warned that it will be a challenge due to staff shortages. The Government announced new measures in a bid to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said "if you or anyone in your household" had one of the two symptoms - a high temperature or continuous cough - "you should stay at home for 14 days".
"That means that if possible you should not go out, even to buy food or essentials, other than for exercise and in that case at a safe distance from others," he said. He added that from Tuesday the Government would no longer be supporting mass gatherings with emergency workers and said people should work from home "where they possibly can".
Two coronavirus patients in isolation at Royal Cornwall Hospital
Two patients who tested positive for coronavirus were being treated at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, it was confirmed. Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust said the two patients were in isolation at the hospital in Truro.
The trust added that there is "no risk to other patients, visitors and staff and our services are running as normal".
Medical Director, Dr Allister Grant said: “We have highly experienced doctors, nurses and other staff who are appropriately trained and equipped to deal with this effectively.”
Other CornwallLive headlines on March 16, 2020
- £1,000 fine for leaving your house as Covid-19 could last a year. Boris Johnson will chair an emergency meeting of the Cobra committee to discuss strengthening coronavirus-tackling measures with officials and could make a decision on shielding elderly citizens, banning mass gatherings and household isolation ahead of the first of the daily press conferences being planned to update the public on Covid-19.
- Churches, mosques, religious organisations and spiritual leaders are making plans to protect worshippers in the growing coronavirus crisis. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, said Catholic churches in England and Wales were preparing to suspend regular Sunday services and daily masses, while the Muslim Council of Britain said online services may be a way to keep in touch with a congregation. The Church of England (CoE) said various “adaptations” are being made to the preparations for Easter services.
- Major travel firm Tui decided to suspend almost all travel operations because of Covid-19. The halt included package holidays, cruises and its hotels. EasyJet said it is introducing “further significant cancellations”, while British Airways’ parent company IAG also announced plans to reduce capacity.
-The owner of DIY chain B&Q closed all 221 stores its owns in France as the country goes on lockdown. Kingfisher, which also owns Castorama and Brico Depot, added it had “taken measures to protect its colleagues and customers, to limit the impact on profitability and to preserve financial flexibility”.
-The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported Covid-19 cases in 144 countries, territories or areas. As a result of Covid-19, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) issued travel advice warning people against visiting certain countries or areas due to restrictions or the risk of quarantine. The guidance advised against all but essential travel to 37 countries.
- Public Health England warned against using tests at home that claimed to be able to diagnose coronavirus. The health body said coronavirus testing will be prioritised for those most at risk of severe illness from the disease, adding that people in the community with a fever or cough do not usually need testing.
- A diabetic father who tested positive for Covid-19 after travelling back from Italy lived in isolation for weeks. Andrew O'Dwyer, 52, kept a diary to explain what happened to him, how the disease progressed and what it feels like day by day. He went into self-isolation after returning from the trip and was tested positive as he began to experience symptoms including breathing difficulties and fever.
- A hotel chain has said it could turn its properties into temporary hospitals if the NHS needs additional bed space during the coronavirus outbreak. Best Western Great Britain said it will discuss the move this week and would be willing to take “unprecedented” steps to help. The chain, which is the largest independent hotel group in Britain, said it had seen a significant increase in cancellations over the last month due to the outbreak.
- Budget supermarket chain Aldi decided to ration everything in its stores across the UK because of 'unprecedented demand'. Despite calls not to panic buy or stockpile from the Government and retailers, people continued to swamp shops across the country and strip the shelves bare.
- Today saw the first of the daily press conferences with Boris Johnson or one of his senior ministers to update the public on the fight against the coronavirus outbreak. Starting on Monday, March 16, 2020, the Prime Minister addressed the media over the pandemic alongside chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.
- A woman from Glasgow was reduced to tears as she was unable to find any formula to feed her baby, due to people panic buying amid coronavirus fears. According to Glasgow Live, Gemma Connolly was shocked to find every shelf in her supermarket empty when she went in to pick up supplies.
- A survey asking people in the UK if they thought schools and workplaces should close due to the coronavirus outbreak came up with an overwhelming answer - yes, they should. Fifty-nine per cent of respondents to the question on local news and community website In Your Area said they thought schools and workplaces should be shut. Just 28 per cent thought they should stay open, while 13 per cent said they didn't know. More than 13,000 people took part in the poll.
- Good Morning Britain's Dr Hilary talked about when schools should close amid the coronavirus crisis. It came after some schools in London had closed while others remained open in the UK. Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar announced the previous week that all schools, colleges and other public facilities would close in the Republic of Ireland.
- Primark was forced to close stores accounting for nearly a third of its sales as European governments shut down high streets to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Owner Associated British Foods (AB Foods) said the budget retailer’s stores in France, Spain and Austria were closed as governments in the three countries forced all non-essential stores to shut as they try to put a lid on the spread of Covid-19.
- The family of an elderly man who died after contracting coronavirus have asked for acts of kindness to be carried out in his memory. Darrell Blackley, 88, died at North Manchester General Hospital (NMGH) on Friday after testing positive for Covid-19. A post on the Facebook page of St Michael's Church in Middleton, Greater Manchester, called for a "wall of kindness" to be built in his memory.
- The World Health Organisation issued advice on how to protect mental health during the pandemic, WHO advised people struggling with their mental health to consult official health authorities and platforms to distinguish "facts from rumours".
- Ryanair announced further cuts to its flight schedules due to travel bans imposed by several countries. It said in a statement: “Ryanair expects the result of these restrictions will be the grounding of the majority of its aircraft fleet across Europe over the next seven to 10 days. In those countries where the fleet is not grounded, social distancing restrictions may make flying to all intents and purposes impractical, if not impossible."
- A mum created social media groups to support people who are self-isolating from the coronavirus from her mobile houseboat where she was quarantined. Within days of Holly Woollard's post, more than 600 helpers including mechanics, drivers, town councillors and even people with disabilities, had volunteered.
- Countries across the world took measures to halt the spread of coronavirus. It has infected more than 169,000 people across the globe and thousands with the virus have died.
- lTV's resident health expert Dr Hilary explained how to self-isolate effectively if you're showing symptoms of coronavirus. It came after UK cases of coronavirus have soared to 1,391 and anyone showing mild symptoms - including a persistent cough or fever - was advised to stay home.
- A doctor says young people ignoring coronavirus advice could 'kill a couple of old ladies without even knowing it'. The anonymous doctor said young people were putting others at serious risk because they don't believe Covid-19 will be serious for them, reports The Mirror.
- The universal free TV licence for over-75s was moved to end on August 1 instead of June 1 because of the coronavirus outbreak, the BBC announced, saying "during this time we do not want anyone to be worried about any potential change". It added: "As the national broadcaster, the BBC has a vital role to play in supplying information to the public in the weeks and months ahead."
- A dog-loving influencer created matching masks to protect him and his canine companion from germs. Former model Israel Cassol, 38, and his miniature pinscher Toby wore their identical protective gear in Chelsea, where he lived.
- Martin Lewis clarified whether or not your can suspend your mortgage payments if you're struggling financially because of the coronavirus outbreak. Appearing on This Morning, the Money Saving Expert founder spoke to concerned callers about their money worries amid the COVID-19 crisis. Martin said... "many mortgage providers understand the situation and if you can't work due to coronavirus and that is causing you problems, I would absolutely discuss it with them."
- Face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability welfare payments were to be suspended for three months to protect vulnerable claimants from coronavirus. The Department of Work and Pensions said the temporary move will come into effect from Tuesday as ministers ramp up efforts to stymie the spread of Covid-19.
- A hand gel producer who received online abuse over price hikes said the cost of some of the raw ingredients have shot up 700 per cent since the coronavirus outbreak. Staff at Jennychem, a British industrial chemicals firm, were labelled “crooks” and “parasites” for doubling the price of hand sanitising gel as demand surged due to COVID-19. The firm’s owner defended the price rise and said they would also be donating some of their products to charity.
- There were a total of 1,543 positive tests for coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Monday, March 16, 2020, up from 1,372 at the same time on Sunday, the Department of Health said. Officials said 44,105 people had been tested in the UK, of which 42,562 were confirmed negative and 1,543 were confirmed as positive. Earlier today a person in their 60s became the first to die in Wales after being diagnosed with coronavirus, Public Health Wales said.
- Asda stores across the country reduced their opening hours because of coronavirus. Some branches shortened the hours they opened to allow staff to restock shelves stripped by hoarders. The shorter hours were also to allow staff to clean the shop while there are no customers present - helping fight off the spread of coronavirus.
- The Manchester Evening News reported some shoppers came up with a hilarious solution to the pasta shortage. Posting to the popular Facebook page, Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK, shoppers were quick to point out that Ann Summers still had plenty of penis-shaped pasta in stock - and it's was on a buy two get one free offer.
- European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen proposed a ban on non-essential travel to the European Union for at least 30 days. The proposed ban would have exemptions for long-term residents, family members of EU nationals, diplomats, doctors, nurses, care workers and experts tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
- Online supermarket Ocado took its app offline after it struggled to cope with demand for shoppers. Customers who wanted to order a shop at Ocado were told to use the website after 'performance issues' driven by high demand for deliveries on the mobile phone app.
- All people in the UK should avoid pubs, clubs and theatres, stop all non-essential contact and travel, and work from home if they can, Boris Johnson has said. The Prime Minister set out the need for “drastic action” to tackle the “fast growth” of coronavirus across the UK as increased social distancing measures are introduced for the population.
- WWE fans were barred from Wrestlemania 36 because of the pandemic. Sports entertainment officials announced the star-studded show will not take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, in front of tens of thousands of global spectators.
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