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Nottinghamshire residents remember Covid pandemic lockdown five years on

By Henry Green

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From considering it a ‘long holiday’ to a feeling ‘like being in prison’ – Nottinghamshire residents have been sharing their memories of the Covid pandemic and the life-changing national lockdown five years since it was announced.

On March 23 2020, the entire United Kingdom was effectively told to stay at home by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

As the Covid-19 virus then advanced further around the country and the globe, the deaths of at least seven million people worldwide would be linked to the virus, and 227,000 people died in the UK with Covid-19 being linked to the cause.

Now five years on from when residents were told to stay indoors, Nottinghamshire people have differing opinions on their experiences.

Chris Greenway and his partner Shannon Tutt had contrasting personal experiences during the Covid pandemic.

“When Covid happened, I was just doing my GCSEs, so I just had a six-month long holiday and I loved it. I enjoyed lockdown because I didn’t do anything and I didn’t have any work to do,” Chris said.

Shannon, who works in hospitality, however didn’t enjoy lockdown and says it has had a negative affect on the sector.

“I would just go to work and then come home again. It was very strange seeing pretty much nobody out on the streets, work was hard and I think it has shaped the way that people are, I think people in retail and hospitality have gotten a lot ruder now,” she said.

Sharon Moore and Christine Hughes both work as civil servants so continued to work throughout lockdown.

“People’s social skills have been badly affected by Covid; we’ve had people who we work with that just want to work from home and no longer want to go out and socialise,” Sharon said.

“I think it’s really affected people’s mental health, and it has really had a knock-on affect with people now really struggling to communicate with each other,” Christine added.

Michael Mckeever, a former head teacher, said: “I think there has been a huge decline in young people’s social skills since we first went into lockdown.

“The big issue is what happened after social media. It almost became a social paradise for young people because everything became online, school work was set online and lessons were online and people’s social skills haven’t recovered.”