History of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom

Graph showing the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United Kingdom, logarithmic scale on y-axis


This article outlines the history of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom (granular timelines can be found here). Though later reporting indicated that there may have been some cases dating from late 2019,[1][2] COVID-19 was confirmed to be spreading in the UK by the end of January 2020.[3] The country was initially relatively slow implementing restrictions but a legally enforced stay-at-home order had been introduced by late March.[4][5][6] Restrictions were steadily eased across the UK in late spring and early summer that year.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

By the Autumn, COVID-19 cases were again rising.[13] This led to the creation of new regulations along with the introduction of the concept of a local lockdown, a variance in restrictions in a more specific geographic location than the four nations of the UK.[14][15][16][17][18][19] Lockdowns took place in Wales, England and Northern Ireland later that season.[20][21][22] In part due to a new variant of the virus,[23][24] cases were still increasing[25] and the NHS had come under severe strain by late December.[26][27][28][29][30] This led to a tightening of restrictions across the UK.[31][32][33][34]

The first COVID-19 vaccine was approved and began its rollout in the UK in early December.[35][36] 15 million vaccine doses had been given to predominantly those most vulnerable to the virus by mid-February.[37] 6 months later more than 75% of adults in the UK were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.[38] Restrictions began to ease from late February onwards and almost all had ended in Great Britain by August.[39][40][41][42] The SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant drove an increase in daily case numbers that remained high through autumn, although the vaccination programme led to a lower mortality rate.[43][44] The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant arrived in early December, driving a further increase in cases.[45][46][47]

  1. ^ "Covid started a year ago – but did this bricklayer bring it to UK sooner?". Metro. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Coronavirus doctor's diary: the strange case of the choir that coughed in January". BBC News. 10 May 2020.
  3. ^ Ball, Tom; Wace, Charlotte (31 January 2020). "Hunt for contacts of coronavirus-stricken pair in York". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  4. ^ Yong, Ed (16 March 2020). "The U.K.'s Coronavirus 'Herd Immunity' Debacle". The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  5. ^ Gadher, Jonathan Calvert, George Arbuthnott, Jonathan Leake, Dipesh. "22 days of dither and delay on coronavirus that cost thousands of British lives". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 15 July 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Boris Johnson orders three-week lockdown of UK to tackle coronavirus spread". ITV News. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  7. ^ "PM address to the nation on coronavirus: 10 May 2020". Government of the United Kingdom. 10 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Coronavirus: Scottish lockdown easing to begin on Friday". BBC News. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Non-essentials shops in NI can reopen from Friday". ITV News. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  10. ^ "As it happened: Thousands flock to reopened shops in England". BBC. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Shops reopen with strict social distancing measures". BBC News. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Queues form as doors open for retail return". BBC News. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Covid updates: UK records highest daily Covid deaths since 1 July". BBC News. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Children will stay part of rule of six, says Gove". BBC News. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Covid: New restrictions in North West, Midlands, and West Yorkshire". BBC News. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Pubs in England to close at 10pm amid Covid spread". BBC News. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Pubs in Wales to close at 22:00 from Thursday". BBC News. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Alcohol-only pubs reopen in Northern Ireland". BBC News. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  19. ^ Covid: Ban on meeting in houses extended across Scotland 22 September 2020 BBC. Retrieved 23 September 2020
  20. ^ "Schools to close and tight new hospitality rules in Northern Ireland". BBC News. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  21. ^ "Covid: Wales to go into 'firebreak' lockdown from Friday". BBC News. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  22. ^ Covid-19: PM announces four-week England lockdown 1 November 2020 BBC. Retrieved 5 November 2020
  23. ^ Wise, Jacqui (16 December 2020). "Covid-19: New coronavirus variant is identified in UK". BMJ. pp. m4857. doi:10.1136/bmj.m4857. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  24. ^ New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (18 December 2020). "NERVTAG meeting on SARS-CoV-2 variant under investigation: VUI-202012/01".
  25. ^ "Covid-19: UK reports a record 55,892 daily cases". BBC News. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  26. ^ "Overwhelmed NHS hospitals diverting patients experts warn of third wave". The Week UK. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  27. ^ "Covid: 'Nail-biting' weeks ahead for NHS, hospitals in England warn". BBC News. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  28. ^ Campbell, Denis (27 December 2020). "Hospitals in England told to free up all possible beds for surging Covid cases". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  29. ^ "Pressure on hospitals 'at a really dangerous point'". BBC News. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Covid rule-breakers 'have blood on their hands'". BBC News. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  31. ^ "Covid in Scotland: Scots ordered to stay at home in new lockdown". BBC News. BBC. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  32. ^ "Covid: New lockdown for England amid 'hardest weeks'". BBC News. BBC. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  33. ^ "Covid: Wales locks down as Christmas plans cut". BBC News. 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  34. ^ "Coronavirus: NI facing six-week lockdown from 26 December". BBC News. 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  35. ^ "Covid: First batch of vaccines arrives in the UK". BBC News. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  36. ^ "Covid-19 vaccine: First person receives Pfizer jab in UK". BBC News. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  37. ^ "Covid: Vaccine given to 15 million in UK as PM hails 'extraordinary feat'". BBC News. BBC. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  38. ^ "Covid-19: More than 75% of UK adults now double-jabbed". BBC News. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  39. ^ "What's the roadmap for lifting lockdown? - BBC News". BBC News. 2021-02-23. Archived from the original on 2021-02-23. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  40. ^ "19 July: England Covid restrictions ease as PM urges caution". BBC News. 2021-07-19. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  41. ^ "Covid: Pubs busy as most rules end in Wales". BBC News. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  42. ^ "Covid in Scotland: 'Right moment' to lift restrictions, says Sturgeon". BBC News. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  43. ^ Cite error: The named reference :8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  44. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  45. ^ Cite error: The named reference omicronmasks was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  46. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  47. ^ "Covid: First UK death recorded with Omicron variant". BBC News. 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-12-13.