Covid: UK marks second anniversary of first national lockdown

A bouquet of flowers at the The National Covid Memorial Wall in London, on the second National Day of Reflection

Events are being held across the UK to mark the second anniversary of the first national Covid-19 lockdown.

A memorial concert for those who have died as a result of the pandemic will be held at St Paul's Cathedral in central London at 19:00 GMT.

People are being encouraged to shine a light or display flowers in their window at 20:00 GMT.

Boris Johnson said those who died during the pandemic would "never be out of our hearts and minds".

The prime minister, who will mark the anniversary privately, said the toll the pandemic had taken around the world was "immeasurable" and paid tribute to the "heroic efforts" of NHS staff in caring for patients.

A minute's silence was held at midday, as one of several events organised by the end-of-life charity Marie Curie to mark the National Day of Reflection.

There will also be an online map where people can pay tribute to their loved ones.

The day is being marked by more than 350 organisations, with UK landmarks including the Gherkin in the City of London, the Senedd in Cardiff, Glasgow Central Station and Belfast City Hall being illuminated in yellow.

The Covid19familiesuk group is holding an event during which people can tie yellow ribbons with messages to their loved ones to Westminster Bridge, central London.

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The first ministers of Scotland and Wales, and Northern Ireland's health minister are supporting the day's events.

Julie Pearce, Marie Curie's chief nurse, said while life was starting to return to normal for some, "several million people are still living with the trauma of loss".

On 23 March 2020, Mr Johnson announced the first national lockdown, telling people they would only be permitted to leave their homes for limited reasons, in a bid to stem the spread of Covid-19.

The last remaining Covid restrictions in England were dropped at the end of February.

When the restrictions were dropped, Health Secretary Sajid Javid insisted it was the right time but added that Covid was "certainly not done with us".

Prof Sir Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, warned on Wednesday that Covid rates were "high and rising".

But he added that the high case numbers were not causing surges in intensive care admissions and deaths.

What is the latest Covid data?

On Wednesday, government figures show there have been 164,123 deaths in the UK within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, with 194 of those deaths reported in the past 24 hours.

New infections are rising again - with 102,483 new cases recorded on Wednesday. Most of the infections are being driven by the BA.2. sub-variant of Omicron.

The latest available figures from the government's dashboard show there are 16,720 patients in hospital with Covid-19.

So far, 92% of people aged 12 and over in the UK have had their first Covid vaccine dose, 86% have had their second and 67% have had a booster.

An extra booster vaccination is now being offered to people aged 75 and over and certain other vulnerable groups.