23-03-2025
It's five years since Boris Johnson told people to "stay at home".
The nation had been holding its breath waiting for an official lockdown due to the spread of COVID-19.
The Chinese city of Wuhan - where the virus had first broken out - had been in lockdown for nearly two months.
Images of a bus driver with no protective gear transporting passengers who had just landed in the UK from Wuhan sparked fear and concern.
The virus officially first reached the UK on 31 January.
Several cases in the weeks after were linked to a man thought to be a "superspreader".
Wuhan in January 2020
In March, about 250,000 people attended the Cheltenham Festival and more than 50,000 gathered to watch Liverpool play Atletico Madrid at Anfield.
At the time, Professor Tim Spector, a scientist from King's College London, said it was likely the two events had caused "increased suffering and death that wouldn't otherwise have occurred".
He said data from an app used to report COVID-19 symptoms showed that Cheltenham and the North West both became "key hotspots" for the coronavirus.
And then came lockdown
People could only leave their homes for basic necessities, medical requirements and one form of exercise a day - either alone or with a member of their household.
Pubs, restaurants, clothing stores and all other non-essential shops shut their doors, while once bustling cities and town centres became ghost towns.
The sight of empty supermarket shelves led many to fear food shortages.
The limitations led to a surge in people feeling lonely, with about 3.7 million adults in the UK reporting they often or always felt alone from October 2020 to February 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The Clap for our Carers social movement - a national applause on a Thursday evening for ten weeks - was established as a way to show appreciation for the NHS, as it coped with the growing cases.
Daily briefings were held in Downing Street.
Professor Chris Whitty, the UK's chief medical adviser, and Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, became household names.
Three weeks after announcing a nationwide lockdown, Boris Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to intensive care for three days.
As the country was living under restrictions and fines were being issued for breaching them, gatherings and events were being held in Downing Street, which prominent figures faced scrutiny over in a scandal which became known as Partygate.
Dominic Cummings, then chief adviser to the prime minister, came under fire for travelling from London to Barnard Castle in Durham in May 2020 - a trip which went against lockdown rules, which he said was to test whether his eyesight was good enough to drive.
The NHS and health care systems across the nation were under huge strain.
The Army was required to help deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline workers.
In April, east London's ExCel exhibition centre was converted into a temporary NHS Nightingale Hospital, with space for 4,000 beds.
It was built in just nine days.
Between March 2020 and 5 May 2023, when the WHO declared the global health emergency over, almost 227,000 people died in the UK with Covid-19 listed as one of the causes on their death certificate
To combat "profound" economic challenges facing the UK as a result of COVID, then chancellor Rishi Sunak launched the Eat Out To Help Out Scheme in August.
This involved a 50% discount of up to £10 per head on food and non-alcoholic drinks on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays to get Britons back to restaurants, cafes and pubs.
In October 2020 the government announced a new three-tier system of restrictions.
Areas were categorised as either medium, high or very high and different restrictions were implemented according to an area's alert level.
The tiered system was in force until 2021.
The stark impact lockdown had on the nation is plain to see when comparing London's landmarks and busiest stations before and after it was introduced.
London under lockdown
In February 2021, the government published its four-step plan to ease lockdown restrictions in England.
This involved the reopening of schools and allowing outdoor events to be held.
The presence of more than 200,000 festivalgoers at Glastonbury in June 2022 was a stark contrast to the social distancing that had dominated British lives for the past two years.
The National Covid Memorial Wall in London was created a year after lockdown as a public mural to commemorate victims of the pandemic
'Where losing someone this way has been very isolating for many different reasons, the wall is a reminder we aren't alone'
Volunteers of National Covid Memorial Wall
Credits
Reporting and production: Lauren Russell, news reporter
Editing: Rebecca Harty and Serena Kutchinsky, assistant editors
Picture research: Daniel Daukes, picture editor
Pictures: Press Association, Reuters, Associated Press
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