The UK’s Covid-19 pandemic has now caused more than 100,000 deaths while everyday life has been disrupted for the entire population for almost a year.

On January 30, 2020 Peter Attwood, 84, became the first known fatality from the outbreak after he died in Kent.

Almost exactly a year later, and despite three national lockdowns, the country’s official death toll entered six figures.

The UK has become the fifth country in the world to pass the grim milestone but has also led the way on developing and administering a vaccine that will hopefully soon bring the pandemic to an end.

Working at break-neck speed, scientists have made several major breakthroughs in their understanding of the virus and how it affects people.

New treatments and vaccines have been discovered, developed and approved for use and more than 7,000,000 of the most vulnerable people have now received their first dose in the UK.

Among all the latest twists and turns of the pandemic, people across the country have found new ways of carrying on living and supporting each other during a difficult time.

Here we look back at how the UK has coped in the year since the first Covid death was recorded:

Timeline – the year of Covid

January 30 2020: The earliest known death involving Covid-19 in the UK. The victim is 84-year-old Peter Attwood, from Chatham in Kent. His death is not formally confirmed as having involved Covid-19 until the end of August.

February 2: The second known death involving Covid-19, of a man aged between 55 and 59. A third death follows on February 22, of a woman aged between 30 and 34. Further deaths occur on March 2, March 4-6, then every day from March 8.

February 19: A research team in the US describes the tiny molecular key on Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, which allows it to enter human cells. This key is called a spike protein, which will become a target for many of the coronavirus vaccines.

March 12: First death involving Covid-19 in Scotland.

March 15: First death involving Covid-19 in Wales. The cumulative UK death toll, based on mentions of Covid-19 on death certificates, passes 100.

March 18: First death involving Covid-19 in Northern Ireland.

March 23: The cumulative death toll passes 1,000. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces a UK-wide lockdown. Trips outdoors were limited to one form of exercise a day, shopping for essential supplies and travelling to work if absolutely necessary.

March 26: Thousands of people across the country take to their doorsteps to clap for carers in the first of what became a weekly event.

March 27: Boris Johnson and Mr Hancock test positive for Covid-19, while chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty says he has symptoms and is self-isolating.

April 2: First of 23 consecutive days when more than 1,000 daily deaths are recorded in the UK.

April 5: Cumulative death toll passes 10,000.

April 6: Boris Johnson was moved to an intensive care due to his worsening condition. He’d been admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital the day before. He’s discharged on April 12.

April 8: The ‘deadliest’ day of the first wave, with 1,457 deaths in the UK.

April 16: War veteran, Tom Moore, completes 100 laps of his garden, eventually raising over £32 million for the NHS ahead of his 100th birthday.

April 17: Cumulative death toll passes 25,000.

May 22: Reports first start surfacing that Dominic Cummings made a trip to Durham to self-isolate at his parents’ house in a breach of lockdown restrictions that were in place at the time.

May 23: Cumulative death toll passes 50,000.

June 15: After three months of lockdown, shops across England welcome back customers, while zoos and safari parks are allowed to open their doors.

June 16: A large UK clinical trial, known as Recovery, provides the first evidence that dexamethasone, a cheap and widely available steroid, could reduce deaths from Covid-19. The researchers said the drug cuts the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.

June 18: The daily death toll drops below 100 for the first time since March 19. It returns above 100 on June 24 and June 25, then remains below 100 until October.

June 29: Leicester becomes the first UK city to go back into lockdown after a spike of coronavirus cases in the city.

July 4: Pubs reopen again and weddings are allowed to take place.

July 17: Mr Johnson says he hopes for a ‘significant return to normality by Christmas’ as he announces a further relaxation of restrictions.

July 24: Face coverings become mandatory in shops across England, with £100 fines to people who flout the rules.

July 26: Spain becomes the first country to be removed from the Government’s ‘travel corridor’, sparking a rush of tourists to get back from the country without needing to go into self-isolation for two weeks.

August 3: The Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme launches, with restaurants, pubs and cafes offering half-price meals to diners during August.

August 13: Thousands of pupils’ A-level results in England are downgraded amid cancelled exams as a result of the coronavirus crisis, due to the regulator Ofqual’s algorithm.

August 24: The daily death toll drops briefly into single figures – nine deaths – for the first time since March 11.

September 1: The majority of schools in England reopen for the autumn term.

September 9: Plans to limit social gatherings to no more than six people both inside and outside are announced by the Government.

September 22: The Prime Minister announces new restrictions including a 10pm curfew on pubs, bars and restaurants in England from September 24.

October 7: 108 deaths involving Covid-19 – the first time the daily toll has been above 100 since June 25.

October 12: The Prime Minister launches a three-tier system of local alert levels for England, with the Liverpool City Region the only area to be placed in tier three – very high – category.

October 23: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon sets out a five-level plan of measures for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland.

October 31: The UK exceeds one million lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus since the start of the outbreak, according to Government data. Boris Johnson announces a second nationwide lockdown, with the closure of hospitality and non-essential shops.

November 9: Preliminary analysis from Pfizer and BioNTech shows their vaccine can prevent more than 90% of people from getting Covid-19, making it the first effective coronavirus jab. The developers describe their findings as a ‘great day for science and humanity’.

November 16: US company Moderna reveals preliminary results from its clinical trials, showing its Covid-19 jab to be nearly 95% effective in protecting against the disease. Moderna says it is a ‘great day’ as it plans to apply for approval to use the vaccine.

November 18: 508 deaths involving Covid-19 – the first time the daily toll has been above 500 since May 9.

November 23: Interim data from Oxford University and AstraZeneca suggests their vaccine is highly effective at stopping people developing Covid-19 symptoms, offering 70% protection. Professor Sarah Gilbert, the vaccine’s architect, says their work ‘takes us another step closer to the time when we can use vaccines to bring an end to the devastation’ caused by the pandemic.

November 26: Cumulative death toll passes 75,000.

December 2: The UK becomes the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. England’s national lockdown comes to an end and is replaced by a strengthened three-tier system.

December 14: Mr Hancock tells MPs a new strain of coronavirus has been identified in southern England, with the number of cases involving the new variant ‘increasing rapidly’.

December 19: The Prime Minister cancels Christmas for almost 18 million people across London and eastern and south-east England by moving them into a newly created tier four for two weeks.

December 30: Oxford University and AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is approved for use in the UK.

January 4 2021: Boris Johnson announces a third national lockdown for England with schools shut to most students and people urged to stay at home to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed by surging coronavirus infections.

January 7: Cumulative death toll passes 100,000, if measured by number of times Covid-19 is mentioned on a death certificate. The Government announces that two rheumatoid arthritis drugs will be offered to critically ill Covid-19 patients at NHS intensive care units.

January 8: The Moderna vaccine becomes the third Covid-19 jab to be approved in the UK.

January 26: UK death toll passes 100,000 based on the Government’s chosen measure – deaths within 28 days of a positive test result.

January 30: Anniversary of first known death involving Covid-19 in the UK.

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