BARNSLEY IN LOCKDOWN

March 2020/October 2020/January 2021

March 16 is a day which will live long in the memory of not just Barnsley residents, but people from across the UK.

Boris Johnson, who was Prime Minister at the time, placed the nation into a lockdown - a feat that we are very rarely going to face again in the modern era.

As cases of coronavirus became more serious and in number, he was left with no choice but to tell residents to stay indoors. At the time, it felt surreal. It felt like a plot in a box office thriller.

But it wasn’t. It was something we were all living in, and would live in for the best part of two years.

We were all glued to our TV screens, and would be for the next few months as the government’s Covid updates began to air. Three days later and the restrictions legally came into place. Residents weren’t able to leave their homes unless they were going out for exercise, though this was only allowed once a day, and to go to the supermarket for essential goods.

On April 16, lockdown was extended for ‘at least’ a further three weeks - something which certainly scared a number of people. What at first to some may have seemed just a few weeks off work or school, quickly became a worldwide pandemic which affected us all. A fortnight later and the Prime Minister told the nation they were ‘past the peak’ of the pandemic and on May 10 announced conditional plans to bring the country out of lockdown.

At that point it looked like we were past the worst. A phased opening of schools, non-essential shops, pubs and restaurants began to come into play.

But, in hindsight, it was clear this caused a rise in cases. After local lockdowns came into play in June, a curfew of 10pm was set - as was the rule of six. That meant people were unable to meet with more than the set number - though this was just the start.

On September 26, the government announced they would not rule out a further lockdown. Less than a month later and they revealed their three-tier system. Barnsley was in the bottom tier of this scheme - meaning they were ultimately back into a full lockdown.

The town had the highest infection rate in the whole of South Yorkshire, standing at 548.9 per 100,000 residents. At the time, the town’s director of public health, said they wanted to support residents in every way possible.

Julia Burrows said: “We want to do everything we can to identify and support as many people as we can who have been identified by the Test and Trace system and who need to self-isolate.

“Here in Barnsley, as well as across South Yorkshire, cases are spreading across all age groups, with increasing hospitalisations, intensive care admissions and deaths.

“I want people to be aware that if they receive this message, it is genuine and that they need to take action to prevent transmitting this very serious virus throughout our communities.”

Remember, remember the 5th of November never rang truer than it did in 2020 when the country ended its second lockdown period.

Admittedly, it only lasted until December 2 but the restrictions didn’t end there - as the tier system returned with a new fourth tier. Fortunately, Barnsley never entered that category but harsh laws were still forced among residents.