Leicester City Council has published a report into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the city and its people.
The report looks into how the pandemic unfolded in Leicester, including information on when events occurred, how many cases were reported, as well as the testing and vaccine programmes. Alongside charting these key events, the report also acknowledged how communities came together to help with the response to a historic period of time.
Professor Ivan Browne, Leicester’s Director of Public Health, and the person responsible for compiling the report, said:
“People will remember that Leicester became the first local authority area to be places under a local lockdown in June 2020 – and, as a result, we spent more time living under Covid restrictions than anywhere else in the country…
“Those periods of lockdown undoubtedly took their toll – but the lasting impact of the pandemic on people’s health, livelihoods and happiness is only just starting to be understood.
“In this annual report, we look back at the public health interventions that helped protect the health of the people of Leicester during the pandemic and consider the lessons that can be learned from the challenges that we faced.
“By evaluating our response to those challenges, we hope to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Leicester in the future.”
Divided into distinct chapters that focus in on the most important aspects of how the pandemic could leave a lasting effect on Leicester, with these chapters being:
- Healthy Minds: Looking into the impacts that lockdown had on the mental health of the city’s residents.
- Healthy Start: Considering the challenges that were faced by children and young people.
- Healthy Lives: Investigating people’s ability to get access to health services and look after their own health.
- Healthy Ageing: Evaluating the pandemic’s impact on older people and looking into what’s being done to help combat social isolation.
Deputy City Mayor responsible for health, Cllr Sarah Russell, added:
“This report considered the events, challenges, and achievements of 2020-22 through the stories of the people who lived through it.
“The lessons learned from the pandemic will help s be better prepared for a future crisis, and they will also help us better understand the pandemic’s lasting impacts on the health of the people of Leicester.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ivan, our director of Public Health, or the leadership he showed during the pandemic, and for guiding the city through unprecedented times with humility and calm authority.
“We will certainly miss him, but we wish him well in his new role at De Montfort University.”
You can read the report from Leicester City Council here.
Image credit: iStock
