Lockdown in Worthing: looking back five years on – in pictures

Boris Johnson, then Prime Minister, announced the first lockdown on the evening of March 23, strictly prohibiting people’s movement.

Shops selling non-essential goods were closed, along with other premises including places of worship, libraries, as were playgrounds and outdoor gyms.

Gatherings of more than two people from different households were banned and people were only allowed to leave their homes to shop for basic necessities, to fulfil any medical needs, to exercise once a day – alone or with members of their household – and to travel to and from work, but only when ‘absolutely necessary’ and the work could not be done from home.

Addressing the nation, Mr Johnson said: “You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say no. You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home. You should not be going shopping except for essentials like food and medicine – and you should do this as little as you can. And use food delivery services where you can. If you don’t follow the rules the police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings.”

Many had predicted the measures – or something approaching them. Worthing had seen some of the country’s earliest cases of Covid-19, with an A&E worker at Worthing Hospital said to be among eight people who had tested positive in the UK as of February 12, 2020.

Prior to Mr Johnson’s announcement, some had already enforced social distancing – as it came to be called – with Worthing noticeably quieter than usual early in 2020. But there was a big difference between that and what came on March 24, 2020, with the town centre all but deserted while some exercised on the prom, either alone or with members of their household – as these pictures show.