National Covid Day of Reflection in Bexhill on March 9 2025.
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00:00Today is a very, very special day because it's five years since the announcement by
00:08the government of COVID in this country, which was March the 11th, actually, in 2020.
00:15The Commission for COVID Commemoration have asked everyone across the country if they
00:19would actually commemorate this day, have a day of reflection and get people together
00:25because it has been some five years and we are still suffering from the consequences.
00:30So here in Bexhill, we're all here today, we're going to set up a small service.
00:34We're going to have poems, songs, the British Legion band, and our dear, reverent Jonathan
00:41Frase is going to do some prayers so that we can all gather together and just join one
00:46another on this special day.
00:49COVID, globally, has been a struggle for everybody and we've lost seven million people across
00:54the world since 2020 of COVID.
00:58It's an infectious war that's hit us all and we've all had to fight to get free of it and
01:05we still aren't free of it.
01:06I think it's absolutely vital that we have a time, a day, that we can actually come together
01:13and all remember the loved ones that we've lost and the friends and the struggle that
01:18some people have had, particularly our public services, that have actually kept going and
01:23looked after us all.
01:24It is very important that we're all here today and we reflect on those memories and commemorate
01:33that time.
01:34There is always a positive element, that being the impact provided by our health and social
01:41care staff, our frontline workers including emergency personnel, bus and taxi drivers
01:49who kept our essential workers mobile, those working in supermarkets, pharmacists, researchers
01:57and scientists, and all those that volunteered and showed acts of kindness during an unprecedented
02:04time.
02:05For example, the members of the Lions Club, local individuals offering needed support,
02:12who undertook prescription and shopping deliveries for elderly and immunodeficient neighbours
02:19and friends, and those that were left isolated on their own with nobody to converse with.
02:28It is fair to say that the pandemic had a profound impact on all of us.
02:34This day of reflection provides us with an opportunity to remember our families, our
02:40friends and those we miss on a daily basis.
02:45We reflect on the sacrifices made by so many people who added great value to our community
02:51during a time where the world suffered greatly and was put on pause.
02:59As we gather here, it is indeed pivotal and important reminder of past events, but also
03:10doubles as a beacon of present and future hope, the promotion of goodwill, harmony and
03:16positivity.