The leader of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council has paid tribute to those who have lost their lives to Covid-19 on the first anniversary of the national lockdown.
Cllr Mary Lanigan said: “These past 12 months have been hugely challenging for everyone in our community and the nation as a whole. We should never forget those who have been most affected by the pandemic – the people who have lost their lives to this cruel virus and their families.
“Sacrifices have been made by us all to help us get through the most trying times, and I want to thank everybody for doing all that they could to protect their families, friends and even strangers. Weddings have been cancelled, birthdays have been missed, and we've been separated from our friends and families during a year that has been like no other.
“But there has also been a positive side. We have heard inspiring stories of our community heroes. People have donated time, money and whatever they could to help others, including making sure those that were shielding had access to food and children had access to laptops when schools were closed. This year has certainly demonstrated our strong sense of community spirit.
“As a council, we have worked tirelessly with our partners to establish community testing centres across the borough and huge efforts have been made to save as many jobs as possible with millions of pounds being administered to local businesses to help them survive these lockdowns.
“The progress with vaccinations has been incredible, and though we all long for the return of our normal lives, we must continue to take action and maintain the Hands, Face, Space guidance, as well as following the roadmap set out by Government. We must not undo all of our hard work now.
“We owe it to our wonderful key workers, including Covid nurses and their NHS colleagues, and those that have lost so much already, to keep playing our part until we can safely hug our loved ones once again."