- COVID-19 Day of Reflection will take place annually each March
- New COVID-19 commemorative green spaces delivered in partnership with NHS Charities Together and Forestry England
The government has today published its response to the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration’s report.
The Commission, headed by Baroness Morgan of Cotes, was created under the previous administration to make recommendations on how the United Kingdom can commemorate the loss of life and honour the sacrifice and public service of key workers during the pandemic.
The government has committed to take forward a number of the recommendations in the report, including
- Preservation of the National Covid Memorial Wall Created by the bereaved, for the bereaved, the government will work with The Friends of the Wall and local partners, to preserve the National Covid Memorial Wall as a memorial to the lives lost in the UK to COVID-19.
- A UK wide COVID-19 Day of Reflection The Day of Reflection will continue to take place annually in March as an opportunity to come together to remember the lives lost and the sacrifices made. It will also pay tribute to the work of health and social care staff, frontline workers, researchers and all those who volunteered and showed acts of kindness during this unprecedented time.
- Creating new spaces for reflection In partnership with NHS Charities Together and Forestry England, new COVID-19 memorials will be created across the country that will reflect the importance of green spaces to the nation during the pandemic.
- Fellowship scheme on future natural hazards A new fellowship programme has been launched focusing on natural hazards and resilience as part of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Policy Fellowship programme.
- Commemoration web pages New gov.uk web pages have also been published bringing together information about COVID-19 commemorative activity, including oral histories that share memories and first-hand experiences of the pandemic. They will also include information on memorials that the public can visit, and about the Day of Reflection.
Culture Minister Baroness Twycross said
The pandemic had a huge impact on every aspect of our lives. It is right that this period in our shared history is appropriately remembered. I would like to thank Baroness Morgan, all of the Commissioners, and the bereaved family groups who contributed to the work of the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration.
It is important that we honour the lives lost and remember the sacrifice and courage of key workers who contributed so much to keep the public safe and keep our public services running during this time, often at huge personal cost.
Each of the more than 240,000 hand painted hearts on the National Covid Memorial Wall is a poignant and powerful reminder of the scale of loss of life to the pandemic. Many families did not have the opportunity to say goodbye to a loved one. Today, we commit to ensuring that those who died are not forgotten.
Baroness Morgan of Cotes said
I would like to thank Ministers and DCMS officials for their considered and thoughtful response to the recommendations of the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration. It was a privilege to chair the Commission and I remain mindful that while people want the space and time to reflect on their individual and collective loss, they also wanted us to look ahead in our recommendations and to try to build resilience in preparation for a future pandemic or other hazardous event.
As we said in our report, the period when bereaved families could not have the usual physical and social contact will never be forgotten. But equally the efforts and sacrifices of frontline workers, the volunteering and community spirit we saw and the amazing achievement of UK science in developing the vaccines should also not be forgotten. It is right that, as a country, we take the time to remember the COVID-19 pandemic, to address what happened and then to focus on preparedness for the future. The Government response will facilitate this and I am delighted that we have reached this point.
You can read the full government response here https//www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-government-response-to-the-report-by-the-uk-commission-on-covid-commemoration