Worcestershire joins national day of reflection to mark Covid lockdown anniversary
Worcester Cathedral will be holding an online service during the one-minute silence
Worcestershire will join the national day of reflection tomorrow to mark one year since the UK went into the first national lockdown.
A national day of reflection, organised by the end-of-life charity Marie Curie, will take place today.
A minute's silence will be held at 12pm followed by a bell toll, and people are being encouraged to stand on their doorsteps at 8pm with phones, candles and torches to signify a beacon of remembrance''.
The Prime Minister has said he will observe the minute's silence privately at noon while it will also be held in the Houses of Parliament.
London's skyline will turn yellow with landmarks including the London Eye, Trafalgar Square and Wembley Stadium lighting up at nightfall.
More than 250 organisations are supporting the day of reflection, including 82 leaders from religious groups and cross-party politicians, care organisations, charities, businesses, emergency services, public sector bodies and community groups.
According to the latest available data from the Office for National Statistics, there have been 618,676 deaths from all causes registered in England and Wales between March 21 2020 and the week ending March 5 2021.
In Worcestershire, 1,034 people have lost their lives to Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Matt Jackson, Family Support Team Manager, at St Richard’s Hospice said:
“Anniversary’s like this – and in general – can really trigger powerful feelings and memories of people who’re grieving.
“People are really highlighting a sense of despair in the loss they’ve experienced but also for the loss of the country.
“For all those people who’ve died – and people are feeling that really intensely”
“I believe the pandemic has had an impact on the grieving process.
“Wanting to be by ourselves and also then wanting to be with others are really natural ways of grieving.
“Through the pandemic that’s become more difficult to get that balance in dealing with grief.
Matt continued:
“I do think we’re going to see a demand for people who need to use bereavement services as we begin to come out of lockdown.
“The distress and the hardship – and I could even use the word trauma – over the last 12 months has been incredibly difficult.
“So certainly here at St Richard’s Hospice we’re planning for an increase in referrals”.
Worcester Cathedral will be supporting the national day of reflection and will host an online service during the one minute's silence at noon.
You can join the service via the cathedral's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WorcesterCathedral