Nottingham residents share Covid stories for first time in historic inquiry visit

Residents have been sharing their pandemic stories for the first time as the national Covid inquiry made an historic visit to Nottingham. People living in and around the city were invited to share their experiences at the Council House in Old Market Square on Thursday, October 24.

The Every Story Matters events, which form part of the inquiry, are touring the country and give the public the chance to share how the pandemic impacted them and their lives. The experiences will be included in a report, which will help inquiry chair Baroness Hallett make recommendations for the future.

Around 40 people shared their stories in one-on-one meetings during Thursday’s session, which was open between 10am and 4.30pm. A second session will be held on Friday.

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Bhavesh Jani, who works at Nottingham Museum Services and Nottingham Asian Arts Council, told the inquiry about his experiences helping support vulnerable people during the pandemic. He said there “wasn’t proper” support for many communities, especially international students.

“Especially with students from India who were left in a difficult situation,” the 65-year-old said. “They'd just come here, some of them had no money and nowhere to live, the courses had stopped.

“They didn't know who to talk to, everything was closed down and it was a new country for them. People struggled mentally.

“There wasn't proper support given by the universities or the government itself.” Mr Jani worked with the Carlton Road Hindu Temple to deliver food to around 80 or 90 people who were homeless, vulnerable, had suffered with Covid or were students from near the beginning of the pandemic.

“We had a fantastic group of volunteers. It was a challenge. Certain communities wouldn't come out. I was a bit worried but I took some precaution,” he said.

“We need to be prepared locally and nationally to deal with [future pandemics]. We were very slow in responding to the Covid cases. We were ignorant.”

Julian Rosser was on holiday in Italy when Covid began to ravage through the country in late February 2020. However he told the inquiry there was an “extraordinary” lack of checks when he and thousands of other passengers arrived back in the UK.

“Italy was particularly bad at that point, especially in the southern parts,” recalled the 61-year-old from Stapleford. “My Italian isn’t great but you could see enough from local TV that this is serious.

“At Verona Airport everyone had masks, we covered our faces with skiing stuff. When we travelled back to Birmingham Airport we’d never been so quick going through.

“We went through the airport like nothing was going on. Thousands of people. There were no masks, we couldn’t believe there was nothing there. We found it extraordinary.

“I’m not saying there should have been lockdowns straight away, but you would’ve thought there would be some checks.”

One woman at the event said she was a key worker for Nottingham City Council during the pandemic, but was not always provided with PPE. "Sometimes I would have it, sometimes I went without it.

“I ended up in hospital, they didn't know if it was Covid,” said the 59-year-old, who wished to remain anonymous. "I came out with cystic fibrosis and COPD and was in a wheelchair. Everything went downhill."

She said she was left with no PPE for at least one day every fortnight at her job, which involved being in close proximity with dozens of people. "It's disgusting they weren't supplying the equipment needed but still expected her to work," her husband said.

An 80-year-old woman, who did not wish to be named, said she had developed several serious illnesses since having Covid in 2021. "I just wanted to record it because I feel the things I've suffered from since could have been started by Covid.

"Medical people aren't happy to put it down to that." The pensioner, who did not wish to be named, said she had since suffered a stroke and been diagnosed with progressive pulmonary fibrosis - an irreversible progression of scarring in the lungs.

"I'd never had a serious illness before Covid," she said, before encouraging more people to come forward. "By recording this I wanted to state the situation really. It was quite easy and the people are friendly."

Inquiry secretary Ben Connah said it was “incredibly important” that people came to share their experiences. “This will ensure we get a full picture of the pandemic’s impact on people living and working across the UK,” he said.

“People can come down to the Council House to meet with the inquiry team, to have a chat and to tell their story. It’s incredibly important that local people get the chance to inform the work we’re doing.

“Each of us has a unique story to tell about the pandemic. It affected everyone, in family life, in the workplace, in our schools and communities. This is a chance to have your experience feed into the Inquiry and help inform our investigation.”