Prime minister Boris Johnson announced the first UK-wide coronavirus lockdown on 23 March 2020
A series of lockdowns were put in place to cope with the waves of the virus putting unprecedented pressure on the NHS
We're looking back at the time when restrictions became our new normal and hearing how the pandemic touched lives
Rilee Nurse recalled losing his dad Lee to Covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic
Schools, workplaces and town centres were transformed following the orders to work from home where possible
BBC South Today comes live from the Jenner Institute in Oxford where one of the vaccines was developed that eventually paved a way out of the crisis.
Thanks for joining us for our live page reflecting on five years since the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdowns
There is more BBC News coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.
Watch this evening's special edition of BBC South Today from the Jenner Institute in Oxford on BBC iPlayer.
Berkshire residents plant trees in memory of those who died in the pandemic.
Volunteers have been planting trees as a tribute to those who died during the Covid pandemic as part of a new project.
Wokingham Borough Council is marking five years since the outbreak by creating a memorial woodland of more than 6,700 trees across the 7.7-hectare plot, which lies immediately north of California Country Park.
Council officer Laura Buck said: "It's a collaborative effort, everyone has been impacted by the pandemic.
"The council wanted to create a space where residents could come from all over and have an area for reflection."
Hannah Robinson, Parvinder Aley and Sagida Bibi (L-R) from the Oxford Vaccine Group worked on the clinical trials in 2020
As lockdown began across the UK, the Jenner Institute in Oxford was a place almost uniquely placed to respond.
Scientists had been working around the clock on contact-tracing, drugs to treat severe Covid and, most importantly, a vaccine.
Experts developed one as early as January 2020 but it needed to be tested, licensed and approved before it could be rolled out.
And that needed to happen in record time. In what for many was their first TV interview about what they did, BBC South Today's Anjana Gadgil has been speaking to some of the team responsible for carrying out the clinical trials.
Image source, Getty ImagesOne of the lasting impacts of coronavirus has been long Covid - the chronic condition induced by Covid-19 infection, with symptoms including fatigue, feeling short of breath, brain fog, and heart palpitations.
Almost one in 10 people in England think they could have long Covid, according to analysis of national data by University of Southampton researchers who examined information collected by NHS England.
Professor Nisreen Alwan, who co-authored the study, said the condition was "still a very significant issue impacting individuals, families, the economy and wider society".
"It also shows us that many people aren't sure if they have it, and may need diagnosis, treatment and support,” she added.
A special programme looking back at the start of the Covid lockdown in 2020 has begun on BBC One in the south.
BBC South Today is live from the Jenner Institute in Oxford that was key to developing one of the vaccines that helped save millions of lives.
The broadcast begins with a look back at the start of the pandemic.
You'll be able to watch on BBC iPlayer here.
BBC South Today's Covid programme begins
Tom Whipple, science editor at The Times, is one of the guests on this evening's BBC South Today. Before the programme, we've been talking to him about his reflections on the Covid-19 lockdowns.
What are your memories of the pandemic?
"I just I just had a baby, so I remember trying to write more than I'd ever written before.
"As a science writer, it was also a great privilege chatting to some of the best qualified people in the world about viruses."
What things, in your opinion, could have been done better throughout the pandemic?
"I think the politicians were dealing with an incredibly difficult situation where there was no right answer.
"You were trying to trade off freedom against death, against overwhelmingly uncertainty.
"I think it would have made a difference is to have more tests.
"So things like when we reopened schools, it would have been amazing if when the decision was made to reopen, we would have had data on the extent which it spread in schools.
"And there were lots of occasions like that where I think we could have got better data, they would have made better decisions."
What do you think we've learned from dealing with this pandemic?
"We've learnt that we can make vaccines very fast and that we can do testing at scale and do it fast.
"If we went into a new pandemic, it would be a different virus and it would behave differently and I worry that we've now become too ideological about this one.
"Probably the biggest thing we've learned is that when a crisis occurs, we need to be able to borrow a lot of money very fast and we can't probably do that anymore because of Covid."
Coronavirus restrictions meant frustration for south coast sailors at not being able to head on to the water, while marine businesses faced choppy economic waters.
Recreational sailing was effectively banned by the limits on travel and gatherings introduced in March, with marinas advised to close and the authorities keen to prevent extra strain on the emergency services at sea.
Sailors told the BBC at the time of being locked down in marinas, others turned to virtual means to hone their sailing skills, while companies switched their efforts to making PPE for the NHS.
Professor Sir Peter Horby is the director of the Pandemic Sciences Institute at Oxford University which was set up after 2020. He told BBC South Today it's a matter of when, not if, we experience another pandemic.
"These pathogens are out there. We will get other pandemics - this year, next year, 10 years time. We just don't know when it will happen," he said.
"We need to invest in science in the long term - we can't just turn it on and off. That exceptional response we saw in the pandemic, why can't we do that everyday and for everyday conditions?"
Chris Andrews, 68, runs an Independent Publishing Company in Oxford, producing calendars and guidebooks and diaries, having started the business in 1982.
Reflecting on lockdown, he said: “We were trading one week and shut down the next. No-one was going to buy the sort of things we do online."
As company directors, furlough didn’t apply to him, and his wife and dividend payments were not covered by government support.
He said he had to remortgage his home and his health has suffered as a result.
They are part of the ExludedUK campaign, set up by those in a similar position who are calling for an apology from the government and acknowledgement of their loss of earnings during the pandemic.
"It became a really rapidly descending spiral. We had to cash in our main pension – I’d saved into it for 40 years.“… that’s just because the government wouldn’t give us a small amount of money to keep limited company directors going.”
A current HM Treasury spokesperson said in a statement: "Decisions on eligibility for Covid-19 financial support were taken by the previous government.
"Those ineligible for the schemes may have been eligible for other elements of financial support provided by the previous government.
"The current government has no plans to assess or pursue a financial compensation scheme."
Image source, Getty ImagesSouth Central Ambulance Staff wore personal protection equipment (PPE) while attending calls to reduce the risk of catching Covid-19
Image source, Getty ImagesStaff at Southampton General Hospital applaud the funeral procession of hospital porter Mike Brown, 61, who died with coronavirus in April 2020, having worked for the NHS for 20 years
Image source, Getty ImagesIn Dorchester people were urged to obey the lockdown rules for the sake of the NHS
Image source, Getty ImagesMedical staff, along with fire fighters (in red) stand for a minute's silence for victims of the pandemic at Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra Hospital
The pandemic saw the NHS put under unprecedented pressure as hospitals were flooded with Covid-19 cases
With commuter numbers plummeting and tourist venues shut, the Isle of Wight's ferry providers had to quickly adapt to the crisis.
Red Funnel, Hovertravel and Wightlink ran an agreed limited timetable for key workers and essential supplies during travel restrictions and received a £6.5m government grant to maintain services through the coronavirus pandemic.
Hovertravel’s hovercraft were modified to allow stretchers to be taken on board, meaning Isle of Wight patients and paramedics could be flown to Southsea or a new temporary pad in Southampton.
Red Funnel later announced 50 job losses, with chief executive Fran Collins saying the pandemic had a "far bigger and more sustained impact than we anticipated".
Image source, HovertravelThe 23 March restrictions were the first in a series of orders introduced throughout 2020 and 2021 in a bid to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
Almost 34,000 people died with Covid in March and April 2020 alone.
One of them was Lee Nurse from Basingstoke. He was 43.
His son Rilee was just 18. Here's his very personal reflection on that time.
Image source, ReutersOne of the more unusual sights of the pandemic was the cruise ships moored in the English Channel.
Ships that usually spent the summer cruising the Mediterranean and Caribbean instead found themselves lingering off the Dorset coast, becoming a tourist attraction in themselves.
The costs of fees to berth meant an already crippled industry would have lost even more money if cruise ships docked in ports.
While cruise companies said they abided by maritime regulations, Dorset Wildlife Trust claimed its research showed the impact of vessels apparently dragging anchors and chains and warned of ‘scarring’ of marine seabed habitats.
For the majority of us the world of work was changed utterly by Covid.
Many people started working from home, many others lost work or were put on furlough.
But some went on to start their own businesses as a way to make ends meet.
BBC South Today's Sarah Farmer has been to meet some lockdown entrepreneurs who have now left their old lives behind.
Hampshire businesses started in lockdown continue to thrive
The South Today team are setting up for this evening's programme which comes live from the Jenner Institute in Oxford.
The programme looks back at the work done to develop one of the Covid-19 vaccines and reflects on the impact of the pandemic and the lockdowns on life in the south of England.
Join Anjana Gadgil at 18:30 GMT on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Image source, Julie RicauWhile lockdowns placed the most severe restrictions on individual freedoms since World War Two, they also helped bring communities together.
Volunteers did shopping for neighbours or delivered prescriptions to vulnerable residents confined to their homes.
In Reading, people decorated a street with banners and drawings and chalked messages on pavements to celebrate the fourth birthday of their neighbour Felix in May 2020.
"We have no family in the country, so it was really lovely to have that community around us," his mother Julie Ricau said.
Image source, Getty ImagesPubs had to close, with many offering takeaway services to survive
Image source, Getty ImagesUsually busy landmarks, such as Windsor Castle, were deserted
Image source, Getty ImagesTheatres and other entertainment venues were closed
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth lit up in blue in tribute to NHS workers
Image source, Laura ReedIn the early period of lockdown partners were not allowed to attend births, leaving women to give birth without anyone they knew by their side.
Pre-natal and post-natal appointments also had to be attended alone, cutting new parents off from conventional support systems.
Laura Reed, 43, from Basingstoke, had a planned caesarean section in April 2020. Her husband dropped her off with a suitcase and returned the next day to pick her up.
Speaking on being alone, she said: "I was shaking a lot. I was really scared and nervous." A nurse took the first photos of her and her son together.
Read more lockdown memories here.
The first confirmed death resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic globally was on 9 January 2020. China reported on the death two days later - a 61-year-old male who had been a resident of Wuhan.
By 28 January the global death toll had surpassed 100.
On 5 March it was announced that a woman with underlying health conditions has become the first person in the UK to die after testing positive for coronavirus. The Royal Berkshire NHS Trust said the patient, understood to be in her 70s, had been "in and out of hospital for non-coronavirus reasons".
In the UK, more than 44m people were estimated to have contracted the virus between April 2020 and February 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Almost 227,000 people died with Covid-19 listed as one of the causes on their death certificate.
