Loved ones remembered on fifth anniversary of start of Covid

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, external.

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.

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Source: BBC News, 8 March 2025