Bolton: Four years on since first Covid-19 lockdown

Back on March 23, 2020, the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the country stating people must stay at home and certain businesses must close, with others having to work from home to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

The order came into place immediately and was then made legally effective from Thursday, March 26, 2020, at 1pm.

Every person in the UK had to comply with a list of measures including staying at home except for very limited purposes, certain businesses and venues had to close and no more gatherings were allowed of more than two people in public.

Our frontline workers also carried on working while everyone else was staying safe at home.

And now, on the fourth anniversary, The Bolton News is looking back on what the town looked like when most people remained indoors.

On March 23 it was also the day that The Bolton News reported the borough’s first death relating to Covid-19, as a patient in their 70s who had underlying health issues succumbed to the virus at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

Many events were cancelled including the first Bolton Marathon in more than 30 years, as well as concerts at Victoria Hall, and shows at The Albert Halls, with many people having to be refunded for their tickets.

Queues formed outside supermarkets, as well as banks in the town centre, as social distancing rules were rolled out to contain the virus.

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Shelves in the supermarkets across the borough were emptied as people stockpiled items.

And in December 2020, Bolton saw an 80-year-old couple become the first people to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in the community vaccination programme.

However, despite it feeling like a distant memory, there are still people across the borough being treated at the hospital for Covid-19.

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust was caring for 23 patients with coronavirus in hospital as of Sunday, March 10, figures show.

NHS England data shows the number of people being treated in hospital with Covid-19 by 8am on March 10 was down from 24 on the same day the previous week.

Across England there were 1,669 people in hospital with Covid as of March 10.

Nationally, the number of hospital patients with Covid-19 has decreased by 46 per cent in the last four weeks.

The figures also show 12 new patients with Covid were admitted to hospital in Bolton NHS Foundation Trust in the week to March 8.

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on X @chloewjourno.