IT is a year today since the UK first went into lockdown. On the day PM Boris Johnson announced a raft of strict measures designed to curb the spread of Covid in the UK, the virus had already been wreaking havoc in other countries - not least China and Italy.

Worldwide figures on this day a year ago stood at more than 270,000 cases - and there had been 11,000 deaths. That seemed horrifying. Little did we know just what was in store.

York had already come into contact with the virus, of course. The UK’s first recorded coronavirus cases had occurred in the city at the end of January, after two Chinese people staying at the StayCity York hotel became ill.

They were later confirmed to have the virus - though both subsequently recovered.

There were no further cases in York, however - until the virus was to return more than a month later in the most appalling way.

Today and in the days ahead the York Press will be looking at the impact the virus has had on this city and its people over the last year. And we also look at some of the wider changes the global pandemic has caused, forcing changes in the way we live, work, play - and teach our children.

We will take a month-by-month look at the way the pandemic unfolded in this country, and the desperate (and all-too-often ineffective) efforts to try to contain it.

We look at how it is the least well-off who have suffered most - and why. And we ask whether the home-working that has been forced on many of us during lockdown will be here to stay.

The bosses of Explore York Libraries and of the York Museums Trust will describe how they have battled to keep their organisations relevant and engaged during a period of enforced lockdown.

And York Hospital bosses answer a series of questions about how the hospital has coped during a year on the frontline of the war against Covid. Hospital chief executive Simon Morritt also goes out of his way to praise the extraordinary dedication of his staff throughout what has been a gruelling year. “I have been humbled by the spirit, dedication and commitment,” he says.

We will also hear from Press readers about how they have coped during lockdown; look at how business and the housing market has been affected; and hear from University of York vice-chancellor Professor Charlie Jeffery about how his organisation has adapted.

And we will report on today's National Day of Reflection, spearheaded by end-of-life charity Marie Curie.

The charity estimates that more than three million people have been bereaved since the pandemic began, yet many have been unable to properly say goodbye to loved ones or to grieve. The National Day of Reflection will include a minute’s silence at midday today: a chance to pause and think of those who have gone, and of the grieving friends and relatives left behind.