OVER the past 12 months, everyday life has changed immeasurably.

In early 2020, none of us could have predicted that we would soon be ordered to stay at home, required to wear face masks while shopping and would be unable to enjoy pleasures as simple as a drink in the pub or eating out at a restaurant.

It seems hard to believe, but it is now a whole year since Prime Minister Boris Johnson enacted the first coronavirus lockdown.

Since then, hundreds of loved ones have died in Warrington while frontline members of NHS staff have been taken by the virus.

But, in adversity, residents have also shown incredible acts of kindness within the community.

Warrington Guardian: Clap for Carers in Glasgow

This is how the Covid-19 pandemic has unfolded in our town so far:

  • March 10 – Warrington Town play their final game before the football season is suspended, coming back from two goals behind to beat Matlock Town 3-2 at Cantilever Park.
  • March 11 – The first case of Covid-19 in Warrington is confirmed. This resident had recently returned from a trip to Italy and was placed into self-isolation.
  • March 12 – Warrington Wolves play for the last time before rugby league is put on hold by the pandemic, winning 38-4 at Hull FC.

Warrington Guardian:

  • March 13 – Borough council and police and crime and commissioner elections scheduled for May are postponed by a year.
  • March 16 – Parr Hall closes as Boris Johnson urges us all to stop non-essential contact and travel. The historic venue is still yet to reopen a year later with By The Waters of Liverpool the last show on stage on March 15, 2020.
  • March 18 – Non-urgent and elective operations at Warrington Hospital are postponed in order to free up beds for coronavirus patients.
  • March 19 – A 59-year-old man who had tested positive for Covid-19 dies in Warrington Hospital. This is believed to be the town’s first coronavirus-related death.
  • March 20 – Schools across the country open for the final time before being closed until further notice for the majority of pupils. Padgate Academy and Birchwood High School had announced partial closures earlier in the week, being shut to some year groups due to high numbers of teachers being off sick.
  • March 23 – Prime minister Boris Johnson announces unprecedented lockdown measures in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
  • March 26 – Warrington Walking Day, scheduled for July 3, is cancelled for one of only a handful of times in its history. The Neighbourhood Weekender in Victoria Park is also postponed until 2021. The 2019/20 Northern Premier League season is declared void with no promotion or relegation, with Warrington Town sitting third in the table. The first Clap for Our Carers is held, and runs for nine weeks.

Warrington Guardian:

  • March 28 – Warrington’s three recycling centres are closed after huge queues of people taking trips to the tip formed.

Warrington Guardian:

  • April 12 – The number of coronavirus patients at Warrington Hospital reaches its peak in the first wave, with 124.
  • April 15 – Andy Collier, a nurse practitioner at Hollins Park Hospital and former rugby league player, dies aged 53 after contracting coronavirus. Colleagues pay tribute to a ‘selfless man who always put patients and his colleagues first’.

Warrington Guardian:

It is revealed that a temporary mortuary will be established at Walton Hall and Gardens ‘as a precaution’. But the facility would ultimately not be needed.

  • April 20 – Ben Westwood, the legendary Warrington Wolves forward, lifts spirits at Warrington Hospital by handing out free bacon butties.

Warrington Guardian:

  • April 28 – It is revealed that 37 residents at care homes in Warrington have died to date. In addition to the 79 deaths announced at Warrington and Halton hospital, this means that the town’s death toll has passed 100.
  • May 6 – The town’s coronavirus death toll reaches 150 – with 93 coming in Warrington and Halton hospitals and a further 57 in care homes.
  • May 7 – Warrington Wolves reveal that they are facing losses of at least £1million due to the coronavirus.
  • May 10 – The government announces it will begin to gradually ease the lockdown restrictions.
  • May 11 – The number of Covid-related deaths at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust passes 100.
  • May 14 – The Tour of Britain, which was scheduled to pass through Warrington in September, is postponed.
  • May 20 – Warrington Hospital nurse Joselito Habab, known as Jo, dies after contracting coronavirus while working on the frontline of the pandemic. The 46-year-old had worked for the trust for 18 years, and was described as 'kind, considerate gentleman who touched so many lives in so many different ways'. Kind-hearted residents have since raised more than £13,000 raised to support his family.

Warrington Guardian:

  • June 1 – Lockdown measures begin to ease, with groups of six allowed to meet outdoors and schools reopened to some year groups the following week. Ikea’s reopening results in huge queues for shoppers and motorists.

Warrington Guardian:

  • June 7 – The reopening of the town’s primary schools, due to take place the following day, is delayed by a week with only hours notice.
  • June 8 – Joselito Habab’s funeral is held, with his hearse passing by Warrington Hospital before the service.

Warrington Guardian:

  • June 15 – Passengers on public transport are now required to wear face coverings, while non-essential shops reopen.
  • July 4 – Pubs, restaurants and hairdressers reopen and the two-metre rule is reduced to one metre.
  • July 6 – The new £11million Warrington Market opens for the first time.

Warrington Guardian:

  • July 24 – Face coverings become mandatory in shops in England.
  • August 3 – The Eat Out to Help Out scheme is rolled out, offering diners 50 per cent discounts on food and non-alcoholic drinks. Around 337,000 meals are claimed in Warrington, giving the government a bill of more than £1.7million.
  • August 5 – Warrington Hospital has only one Covid-19 inpatient.
  • August 8 – Warrington Wolves play their first game in five months as Super League resumes, beating Hull Kingston Rovers 40-10 behind closed doors at Leeds Rhinos’ Headingley Stadium.

Warrington Guardian:

  • September 1 – Schools begin reopening to all pupils for the new term.
  • September 14 – Warrington Borough Council warns residents not to visit other people’s homes amid an increase in cases in the town. Warrington Hospital records its first Covid-related death in three weeks.
  • September 19 – Warrington Town play their first game in more than six months, winning 2-0 at Basford United.
  • September 22 – A curfew requiring pubs, bars and restaurants to close by 10pm comes into force, with table service only.
  • October 13 – Warrington Hospital is named as a winner at the London Business School Innovation Awards for an innovation that cut death rates and improved the speed of coronavirus patients’ recoveries from the disease. Doctors modified ‘black boxes’, ordinarily used to help sleep apnoea patients with their breathing, as an alternative to using a ventilator.
  • October 14 – The three-tiered system of restrictions is introduced, with Warrington initially placed into tier two.
  • October 27 – Warrington is moved to tier three restrictions, which means that alcohol can only be served with a substantial meal and travel to other areas should be avoided.
  • October 29 – The number of coronavirus patients in Warrington Hospital tops the highest number recorded during the first wave, reaching 145.
  • November 3 – The regular Super League season is curtailed due to coronavirus cases, with the playoffs brought forward in an extended format.
  • November 5 – England moves into another national lockdown for a period of four weeks, although schools and colleges remain open. ‘Non-elite’ sports is stopped, putting Warrington Town’s season on hold. Meanwhile, Warrington Hospital’s Covid-19 death toll reaches 200.
  • November 24 – Christmas bubbles of up to three households will be allowed between December 23 and 27, it is announced. But this is later reduced to Christmas Day alone.
  • December 2 – The second national lockdown is lifted, and Warrington returns to a stricter version of tier two in which the ‘substantial meal’ rule remains in place.
  • December 8 – 90-year-old Margaret Keenan, from Coventry, becomes the first person in the world to be vaccinated.
  • December 15 – Retired GP Phillip Leech, 98, becomes the first person in Warrington to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

Warrington Guardian:

  • December 19 – A fourth tier of coronavirus restrictions is introduced following the discovery of a new fast spreading variant in the UK.
  • December 24 – Warrington Hospital’s Covid-19 death toll reaches 300.
  • December 26 – Warrington returns to tier three measures, with pubs and restaurants only able to open for takeaway as a result.
  • December 31 – Warrington is moved into tier four, meaning that non-essential retail must close and residents must not leave home unless they have a ‘reasonable excuse’.
  • January 1 – Case rates in Warrington hit a new high, with 1,196 positive tests returned in the previous week – up from 534 in the seven days before Christmas Day.
  • January 4 – A third national lockdown is imposed, including school closures.
  • January 6 – Around 2,500 vaccines have been administered in Warrington so far.
  • January 11 – The Halliwell Jones Stadium and Grappenhall Cricket Club are opened as asymptomatic Covid-19 testing centres.

Warrington Guardian:

  • January 19 – The number of coronavirus patients at Warrington Hospital reaches its highest level during the pandemic, with 243.
  • January 20 – Warrington is hit by widespread flooding in the midst of the third national lockdown following Storm Christoph, with around 300 residents being evacuated and roughly 100 homes damaged by the waters.

Warrington Guardian:

  • February 1 – The number of Covid-related deaths at Warrington Hospital passes 400.
  • February 10 – More than 150 people have been fined for Covid lockdown breaches in 2021 alone in Warrington, Cheshire Police reveals.
  • February 22 – Boris Johnson unveils to ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown restrictions.
  • February 24 – Warrington Town’s 2020/21 season is official ended following an announcement by the FA
  • March 3 – The Neighbourhood Weekender is moved to a new date in September, with James replacing Ian Brown as the Saturday night headliner.
  • March 7 – More than two in five people in Warrington have received their first dose of the vaccine, with a total of 70,818 having received the jab.
  • March 8 – The lifting of restrictions begins, with schools reopened.