00:00In 2020, the world came to a stop. The first national lockdown was announced and almost
00:05overnight the streets fell silent. By late November 2021, just over 5,000 people in Kent
00:12and Medway had died within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test. These deaths in Kent were the
00:17second highest in the country. Now it's been four years since the government confirmed the
00:22end of most legal Covid-19 restrictions in England and yet reminders remain. Quiet traces
00:28of a time that changed everything.
00:42So last year was the fifth anniversary of the declaration of the Covid pandemic and we wanted
00:49to mark that here in Maidstone for the 633 people who died during the pandemic period. So we planted
00:58633 trees in this lovely grove in one of our parks. Through Covid I was working in the NHS, I
01:05lost
01:05I think half a dozen colleagues through that period. It does hit people really hard, it did hit people
01:11really hard and of course people are still suffering the effects of long Covid and the grief of losing
01:17loved ones as well. On a number of occasions I've walked into the middle of the circle and just sat
01:23there for 15 minutes and been alone with my thoughts and memories and I think it really it just helps
01:30people come to terms with with their losses.
01:44Staying in Maidstone, Corey's experience with Covid-19 was far from straightforward. He was just 14
01:50when he caught the virus. Now living in London, I met with him to talk about the challenges he faced
01:55after contracting Covid for the fourth time and the lasting effects it had on his health.
01:59A few years later I went, or a year later, I was in hospital with a collapsed lung due to
02:05the amount of times I've had Covid. It weakened my mutants quite a lot. With lockdown obviously you
02:10couldn't go outside, you couldn't see your friends and with Covid as well in the years when lockdown
02:14wasn't a thing I still couldn't go outside and see my friends and with long Covid too it made
02:19made going outside and meeting with my friends and meeting with family quite hard too because it was
02:23something I had to deal with. I had it for about a year, I couldn't smell quite a lot, I
02:29couldn't smell.
02:30My sense of taste was out for quite a while as well, I'd say about six months it was out
02:34for
02:36and I got ill very very easily too.
02:38To better understand how long Covid affects the body I also spoke with a local GP.
02:43We don't fully understand why some people get long Covid but it's more likely that it's due
02:48to the body's reaction to the virus than a direct effect of the virus itself.
02:54Sometimes our immune systems become our own worst enemies, we get sort of friendly fire
02:58where it's starting to damage your own body whilst trying to get rid of the virus and that
03:03is one of the things that's happening along Covid. In small numbers of people you do find actually
03:08that the virus is persisting in their body, you can't get rid of it but we need to understand
03:12more of it before we can really challenge it.
03:15Although the day has come to a close, we remember those who died and reflect on the impact of the
03:20pandemic while the legacy of care and kindness shown continues, like this tree, to endure.
03:27Maisie Walker for KMTV
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