THREE years ago this week, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the UK's first lockdown, which had a profound effect on North Somerset 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, 607 were based in North Somerset.

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

In Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, only 125 of 290 patients (43.1%) were seen within two months in January – in February 2020, 154 of 226 (68.1%) 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 NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG area, 19,880 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 North Somerset, the rate of persistently-absent pupils rose from 10.8% in 2018-19 to 23.8% 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: just 69% of Key Stage 1 pupils in the region achieved the expected standard in reading, 59% in writing, 70% in maths and 82% 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 – in North Somerset, workplace activity was 21% down on pre-pandemic levels.

Similarly, 2021 saw 327,000 businesses closed.

Of these, 965 were closed in North Somerset.