IT HAS been a year like no other.
As rumours began in December 2019 of a new virus plaguing a city in China most of us hadn’t even heard of, we were unconcerned about the events in faraway Wuhan.
Then the initial rumblings were felt in Europe and slowly it began to get real.
An Italian ski party were among the first to be affected, and within that number was a health worker from Newton Abbot. Thankfully he recovered but it brought the problem right to our front doorstep.
By March last year it was apparent this was something new. Despite the Prime Minister’s earlier foolhardy assurances it was okay to shake hands with people who had the virus, a creeping awareness preceded the Covid virus as it began to take hold.
Then, just one day after the Prince of Wales was diagnosed with the virus, the first lockdown began on March 26, 2020.
At that time supermarket shelves were briefly stripped bare in the only incidence of panic buying, but this selfish approach by a few idiots was by far overshadowed by a burgeoning community spirit in Teignbridge.
As can be seen on the following pages, towns and villages across the district, which have always cared for the weak or vulnerable to some extent, rallied to organise themselves into efficient groups and undertake the necessary work to ensure we kept the elderly and infirm safe and well as they self isolated.
Transport groups, church groups, Scout groups, support groups… they all played a significant role. And new groups formed to offer further assistance.
From providing hot meals, doing shopping runs or delivering medicines, this extended community action, often inappropriately likened to a ‘Blitz’ spirit, demonstrated how something good can arise from something bad.
The economic impacts and human costs of the pandemic will be felt for generations.
It would be wonderful if this newfound greater community spirit was just as long-lived.
There’s a six page special in this week’s Mid-Devon Advertiser looking back at how Teignbridge rallied in unprecedented times.