Keith Aspden, leader of City of York Council, looks back to the first cases of coronavirus in the UK and how he found out about the news

The 31st January 2020 began, as it often does, with urgent council business.  I was visiting the Network Rail Operating Centre in York, with other council leaders from North Yorkshire and Leeds, to discuss rail investment in our region with the Secretary of State for Transport. 

Immediately after the visit, I noticed a missed call from Sharon Stoltz, the council’s director of public health, which at the time was unexpected. On ringing back, I arranged to immediately walk into the council’s offices to be briefed on what then became the emerging situation of the first coronavirus cases in the UK.

We wanted to fully understand the situation and any implications for the city, so a frantic round of telephone calls and meetings soon followed that afternoon.  Previously planned meetings were immediately moved at short notice, paving the way for urgent discussions with communications officers, public health officers and colleagues on the council executive.

Given the national and international interest, it was vital that we gave accurate information, which soon became clear would be difficult. Whilst we wanted to be able to be as clear and open as possible with residents about what had happened, we knew very little about the virus and therefore, we were required to wait for Public Health England approval before being able to comment.

Concerns over effective communication and access to data remained a constant issue through the following 12 months, despite repeated calls on the Government to be as proactive, transparent, and work with local teams as much as possible, as they best understand the communities they serve.

At 3.15pm that afternoon, a call was arranged with Public Health England by the Secretary of State for Health’s office, after which, Public Health England formally announced that first cases have been confirmed in the UK of what was soon to become a pandemic that would change our lives.

It was immediately recognised that a great many partners across the city were working to respond to this unravelling situation, so we soon established early meetings of strategic partners, including both universities, North Yorkshire Police, the clinical commissioning group, York Hospital and Public Health England.

February 11 was the first time strategic partners from these key organisations were able to sit down to begin discussing and planning a city-wide response.  Ever since then, countless meetings, calls and briefings have taken place as we continued to work together to achieve the best outcomes for our city. 

In the following days and weeks, national measures and restrictions increased and the scale of the challenge facing our city and country became clear. My story is similar to many others’, working from a temporary desk, created in my kitchen, responding to the biggest challenge our city has faced.

The last 12 months have seen our lives turned upside down. The professional and personal sacrifices do, however, seem small when compared to those made by our healthcare workers, frontline staff and volunteers who continue to give their all to protect the city.

With a year passed and the vaccine rollout now underway, there is hope that we can soon come out the other end of this crisis, but we cannot be complacent. We must continue to meet this challenge head on and continue to demonstrate the resolve that York has already shown in the face of adversity.

As ever, I am extremely grateful for the efforts that partners across the city, including local communities and businesses, have displayed to respond to this evolving crisis. I know that by working together, with residents, communities, businesses, and partners in York, we will face the upcoming challenges in the strongest possible way.