Sombre UK Marks One Year Since First Virus Lockdown

Britain on Tuesday marked the anniversary of its first coronavirus lockdown with a minute's silence in tribute to the more than 126,000 people who have died -- one of the world's worst tolls.

The "National Day of Reflection" saw the silence observed in parliament and across the UK at noon (1200 GMT), followed by bells ringing to mourn the dead and honour frontline health workers.

At 8:00 pm, members of the public are being encouraged to stand on their doorsteps with lit phones, candles and torches to signify a "beacon of remembrance".

Queen Elizabeth II and her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, led tributes, with the monarch calling for reflection "on the grief and loss that continues to be felt by so many people and families, and pay tribute to the immeasurable service of those who have supported us all over the last year".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a lockdown on March 23 last year, shutting schools, non-essential shops and services, and banning gatherings of more than two people.

"From this evening, I must give the British people a very simple instruction -- you must stay at home," Johnson said a year ago, announcing the most stringent restrictions on public life since World War II.

He warned then that "many lives sadly will be lost" -- though the death toll today stands far beyond any of the worst predictions of British scientists or politicians a year ago.

The toll in March last year was 335. A year later it stands at 126,172, among the five worst rates in the world per million people.

A YouGov survey conducted last week found that one in six people in Britain have lost a family member or close friend to Covid-19.

"Every single one of us has been affected," said House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle before the midday pause.

Initially, the lockdown was meant to last three weeks. A year on, Britain is in its third phase of restrictions, but is gradually loosening them thanks to a mass vaccination campaign.

However, Johnson warned that a third wave was now sweeping across Europe and will inevitably "wash up on our shores", even as he called for reflection on the losses of the past year.

It has "taken a huge toll on us all", he said, calling the anniversary "an opportunity to reflect on the past year -- one of the most difficult in our country's history".

"We should also remember the great spirit shown by our nation over this past year," he said, although Johnson's many critics accuse the government of repeatedly doing too little, too late to combat the pandemic.

The prime minister himself required life-saving treatment in intensive care after catching the virus shortly after announcing the first lockdown.

Health minister Matt Hancock said he would pause at noon to reflect on the "hardest year".

"This crisis has touched everybody," he told the BBC.

"The last year has been probably the hardest year in a generation. It's important that we all constantly are striving to learn from what's happening."

However, Johnson's government is resisting calls to hold an immediate public inquiry into why the pandemic struck Britain so hard, and political rows have also clouded the vaccination drive.

Britain's inoculation campaign currently rests largely on UK-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

But supply constraints in India mean the next phase for people aged under 50 will have to be paused next month, the government has warned.

European officials meanwhile are furious that AstraZeneca has up to now been able to deliver its UK contract in full while falling short on its supplies to the EU.

But the next day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel threw her backing behind the plan.