LOOKING back at it, Covid-19 seems like a mad blur of teatime Chris Whitty briefings, hands-face-space slogans, Zoom calls and masks.
It was a confusing, continually changing time that turned our world upside down.
People were suddenly furloughed or juggling home schooling with WFH (who even knew it stood for working from home?).
For some, it was a time of loneliness or isolation; people attended scans and hospital alone.
Some lives were changed for ever with the loss of loved ones. Getting called up for the vaccine was a beacon of hope for the vulnerable.
Neighbours looked out for each other and fetched in shopping. Remember the gold-dust loo rolls?
Everyone has a story to tell from the pandemic – and the UK Covid-19 Inquiry wants to hear yours.
The inquiry’s independent and impartial investigations will uncover just how ready we were for the pandemic as well as the impact it had on us.
Everybody’s story matters. Big or small, positive or negative, your voice will help the inquiry shape recommendations for the future.
You can leave your experiences online anonymously and each one will be read, considered and used in the inquiry’s reports.
Kathryn Dunn, 57, a cognitive behavioural hypnotherapist, spent lockdown in York with her daughter Holly, 26, and her mother Janice.
During the pandemic, she set up a support group, volunteered as a Covid-19 marshal and helped shield her mum, who has since passed away.
She thinks it’s crucial to share what we went through with the inquiry.
“As soon as it became clear we were going to be locked down, I knew people would struggle,” says Kathryn.
“I thought, ‘I’ll start a Facebook group and share everything I see so people are informed locally, like what’s happening with the schools or when the shops are open.’”
She also checked in on folk. “It was, ‘Let’s have lunch, apart but together.’ I feel so very lucky to have had my mum and daughter with me.
“Mum had just sold her house and moved up from Cornwall.
“I remember driving to clear her house, thinking, ‘Will I be stopped?’ It was very difficult to know whether you were complying with everything. It was all very stressful.
“Lots of people were anxious about having the jab – as a marshal, I tried to cheer them up. I’d show them where to go, and say, ‘Oh, I like your coat.’
“Covid was difficult and scary, but we made the best of it.”
Your story matters. Visit Every Story Matters and share yours now to shape the future for generations to come
