COVID-19 two years on
Two years ago today (23 March) saw the UK go into its first lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and across Barnet people are reflecting on the impact it has had.
Twenty-four months on and nearly a third of Barnet’s population has been infected with the virus (115,417), over two-thirds have been vaccinated and, sadly, 1,078 people have lost their lives.
As the most populous borough in London, where the first surges happened in the UK, Barnet has been at the forefront of dealing with the pandemic since it began.
Councillor Caroline Stock, Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board, said:
“As we reach two years since the first lockdown and begin to learn to live with COVID-19, it is a good time to take a moment and reflect on the journey we have all gone through. We should look at this on a personal and professional level, remember those who are sadly no longer with us, and take positives from what we have learned.
“There has also been a wider impact of the pandemic on our communities, such as food insecurity, increased vulnerability, rise in local unemployment and mental ill health. The council responded by setting-up a range of initiatives such as the Community Help Hub, Essential Food hub, financial support for local businesses and bereavement counselling, which helped almost 400 people who have been affected by COVID-19 related deaths.
Dr Tamara Djuretic, Barnet’s Director of Public Health, also took time to reflect, she said:
“We know that our open and honest communication allowed us to build trust with local communities, by being able to say what we knew and also what was ‘unknown’. This also allowed us to build an invaluable network of over 250 COVID-19 champions.
“Barnet led nationally on developing guidelines for managing outbreaks and COVID-19 cases in care settings and worked very closely with schools, supporting head teachers to undertake public health work for the first time. Barnet head teachers are certainly COVID-19 heroes!
“These are just some of the examples that demonstrate how people across Barnet pulled together to face one of the biggest challenges in a lifetime. So many people took on roles and responsibilities to help others and showed that in times of great adversity our community will pull together.
“However, as COVID-19 is still around us, we must continue to be careful, practice the good infection control that we have by now mastered, and get fully vaccinated to protect ourselves and those around us.”
For COVID-19 information and support, visit: www.barnet.gov.uk/covid19, and for mental health support, including bereavement and grief services, visit: https://www.barnet.gov.uk/mental-health-and-wellbeing