National Covid Day of Reflection in Bexhill, East Sussex, on March 9 2025

National Covid Day of Reflection in Bexhill on March 9 2025.

Transcript

00:00Today is a very, very special day because it's five years since the announcement by

00:08the government of COVID in this country, which was March the 11th, actually, in 2020.

00:15The Commission for COVID Commemoration have asked everyone across the country if they

00:19would actually commemorate this day, have a day of reflection and get people together

00:25because it has been some five years and we are still suffering from the consequences.

00:30So here in Bexhill, we're all here today, we're going to set up a small service.

00:34We're going to have poems, songs, the British Legion band, and our dear, reverent Jonathan

00:41Frase is going to do some prayers so that we can all gather together and just join one

00:46another on this special day.

00:49COVID, globally, has been a struggle for everybody and we've lost seven million people across

00:54the world since 2020 of COVID.

00:58It's an infectious war that's hit us all and we've all had to fight to get free of it and

01:05we still aren't free of it.

01:06I think it's absolutely vital that we have a time, a day, that we can actually come together

01:13and all remember the loved ones that we've lost and the friends and the struggle that

01:18some people have had, particularly our public services, that have actually kept going and

01:23looked after us all.

01:24It is very important that we're all here today and we reflect on those memories and commemorate

01:33that time.

01:34There is always a positive element, that being the impact provided by our health and social

01:41care staff, our frontline workers including emergency personnel, bus and taxi drivers

01:49who kept our essential workers mobile, those working in supermarkets, pharmacists, researchers

01:57and scientists, and all those that volunteered and showed acts of kindness during an unprecedented

02:04time.

02:05For example, the members of the Lions Club, local individuals offering needed support,

02:12who undertook prescription and shopping deliveries for elderly and immunodeficient neighbours

02:19and friends, and those that were left isolated on their own with nobody to converse with.

02:28It is fair to say that the pandemic had a profound impact on all of us.

02:34This day of reflection provides us with an opportunity to remember our families, our

02:40friends and those we miss on a daily basis.

02:45We reflect on the sacrifices made by so many people who added great value to our community

02:51during a time where the world suffered greatly and was put on pause.

02:59As we gather here, it is indeed pivotal and important reminder of past events, but also

03:10doubles as a beacon of present and future hope, the promotion of goodwill, harmony and

03:16positivity.