THREE years ago this week, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the UK's first lockdown, which had a profound effect on Somerset West and Taunton residents.

Health

The latest figures from the UK coronavirus dashboard show more than 220,000 people have died as a result of Covid-19 across the UK – of these, 441 were based in Somerset West and Taunton.

Residents have to deal with longer waiting times on referrals and disruption to receiving key check-ups. This includes cancer waiting times.

In Somerset, only 107 of 217 patients (49.3%) were seen within two months in January – in February 2020, 175 of 222 (78.8%) were seen in time.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We are working to reduce the 62-day cancer backlog – which has fallen 35% since peaking in 2020 – but we know there is more to do."

Many people's mental health has also deteriorated during successive lockdowns. Latest NHS England figures suggest that more people are receiving support than ever.

In the former NHS Somerset CCG area, 12,755 people received support for their mental health in December.

Education

The pandemic caused massive disruption to education.

The latest Department for Education figures show that in Somerset West and Taunton, the rate of persistently-absent pupils rose from 11.4% in 2018-19 to 24.2% last year.

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "Schools work very hard to encourage good attendance but have little support as local authority attendance services have also reduced as a result of government cuts."

Attainment for Key Stage 1 pupils has also fallen in recent years: in Somerset West and Taunton, just 66% of Key Stage 1 pupils achieved the expected standard in reading, 59% in writing, 68% in maths and 81% in science.

Economy

Covid-19 has also impacted the economy.

The latest data surrounding workplace activity covers Monday October 10 to Friday October 14 last year. The data shows footfall across the UK remained around 25% lower than a five-week baseline period recorded before the pandemic.

Similarly, 2021 saw 327,000 businesses closed.

Of these, 1,005 were closed in Somerset West and Taunton.