2020: A Year in COVID

2020 is drawing to a close and having ignored this site for a while, I decided that it would be worth a look back on this momentous twelve months. Previous round-up posts have been varied affairs, with a wide range of topics and areas. This year had only one real subject; COVID-19.

Early in the year, the first sign of the virus reaching the UK came with a flight of citizens being repatriated to RAF Brize Norton. After landing, the people were all escorted by a team in hazmat suits onto coaches from a rather unfortunately-named business, resulting in the Horsemen coaches driving in convoy from the airport, along with a rather concerned driver.

Before we got too deep into the pandemic, my usual patch of Westminster politics saw "Brexit Day" with a large gathering of anti-EU Brexit supporters in Parliament Square. Marking the moment when the UK officially left the European Union and entered the transition period, flags were waved and chants were cried.

Back to the main topic of the year, and one of the first areas of daily life to really see the impact of lockdown was the entertainment and retail industry. London's theatres, stores and tourist attractions closed their doors and the capital fell silent.

The first lockdown took hold and the streets were empty, so I headed out to record some of London's iconic landmarks in this new deserted world. I'd ticked off a few by the time I arrived at the pedestrian crossing outside Abbey Road studios, made famous by The Beatles. With a long wait between people walking down the road, and even longer between any of them using the zebra crossing, it became a war of attrition as I dug in for the long haul. Face masks were still quite an unusual sight at this point, but if luck was on my side, maybe someone would cross.

After about forty minutes, my chances of a picture were dashed when an enormous brightly-painted truck pulled up next to the crossing and parked right in my shot. My eyes widened as I realised that this wasn't just some delivery truck or bin lorry; the Abbey Road crossing was getting a fresh lick of paint. With traffic at a bare minimum, the local council was taking the opportunity to repaint the road markings across the borough and I just happened to have strayed across this incredibly rare moment.

In the age old war of Dog vs. Cat, it seems we have a conclusive winner. The Medical Detection Dogs charity allowed me access to witness "Freya" correctly detecting samples of malaria from a row of sample pots in Milton Keynes, England. The charity was working with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to test whether the dogs could be re-trained to provide a rapid, non-invasive diagnosis of the virus. Medical Detection Dogs has successfully trained its dogs to detect cancer, Parkinson's and bacterial infections, through the sense of smell and was looking for donations to help cover the costs of the intensive programme. Work in the programme is still continuing, and still remains just as important as the rollout of vaccinations across the world is set to take many months or years.

With pressure mounting on the NHS and those in key-worker roles, Annemarie Plas came up with the idea of "Clap for Carers". This weekly round of applause was for those who were risking their lives, living away from their loved ones and doing all they could to help contain the spread of the virus. As the weeks went on, the minute of applause increased in length and became more elaborate with entire neighbourhoods arranging musical performances and community sing-a-longs.

By now, the public were adopting the old adage; adapt and survive. Driving home one day, I passed a couple who had created their own al fresco gym next to a housing block. Elsewhere, Reverend Lucy Winkett, rector of St James's Piccadilly, invited me to photograph one of her first online services. As I arrived, a last minute gremlin had caused a loss in connection. With no-one else on site, frantic phone calls to a friend provided a few ideas until a breakthrough with only seconds until the broadcast was set to begin, allowed the service to go ahead as planned. Witnessing this service at such a heightened emotional moment in time, with solo vocal and piano recital by Reverend Winkett was an enormous honour. Following the broadcast, she walked to a corner of the church and gave her own thanks.

In May, I spent some time with the South Central Ambulance Service team around the Southampton area. It was a hugely important visit as, previous to this, the UK media had found very few opportunities to document the work being carried out on a daily basis by the NHS as it tackled COVID-19 head on. Thanks to a pool arrangement negotiated by photographer Will Oliver, the NHS allowed each agency to document a different area of support and care, and Getty Images was lucky enough to secure time with SCAS.

Hearing the stories of how many of the ambulance crew members and paramedics had already suffered through COVID-19, with some members of the team still in hospital on ventilators, gave me a far greater awareness of infection and precautions. The mental and physical toil faced by the teams was overlaid with the type of humour that I recognised from my colleagues in the news media; a reliance on each other to get through what can feel like a daily onslaught of downward-spiralling news.

Having to treat each call as if the patient is COVID-positive adds an extra layer of duties and precautions. The smallest slip or shortcut taken could potentially lead to further infections among your friends and colleagues. As I returned to my hotel each evening, I went through a methodical clean of all of my camera equipment, phone and other items used through the day before starting again the next day. When you think of all of the items in an ambulance, you start to realise the logistics involved with the new normal.

Another group doing all they could to help was the crisis text service Shout 85258 and its team of volunteers. The attention of the country was on the hospitals and care homes, but the impact of months of lockdown, income insecurity and health concerns were having a huge effect on mental health. I contacted Shout and asked to be put in contact with just some of their volunteers so I could visit them in their homes and record what they did.

Unlike other crisis helplines, Shout 85258 is a text service which allows those in need to remain totally anonymous, have time to think through their responses and speak to someone without people nearby hearing their problems. It's a brilliant charity with an amazing team taking the messages. From all backgrounds, they range in age from teenagers to retired pensioners, all giving up their time during a really tough period for everyone, in order to help others.

In the weeks before the first lockdown was announced on March 23rd, Shout was typically handling around 750 conversations a day. This steadily grew, sometimes reaching more than 1,000 conversations a day. As I finished my series of portraits, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, revealed that he had been one such volunteer anonymously counselling people during the Covid-19 lockdown, after having been trained by the charity.

The first lockdown lifted and life was able to return to the streets, albeit in a way that none of us had experienced before. Midnight appointments were taken for hairdressers across the country, drive-in cinemas and comedy clubs popped up, and tourism slowly began to return. I'd contacted a number of churches regarding baptisms in the River Thames before the pandemic began and just as the lockdown lifted, received a message asking if I was still interested. Yes, please!

A brief distraction from the never-ending battle to illustrate the pandemic came with a story from Cambridge about the UK's first Dutch-style roundabout, offering priority to bicycles and pedestrians. It also gave me the opportunity to put my new drone license to the test and get some aerial angles.

Other welcome distractions were witnessing air-to-air refuelling over Scotland during Operation Joint Warrior, following the British Armed Forces on Salisbury Plain while they trained for deployment to Mali, and tracking the queues of lorries in Operation Stack near Dover.

The world of politics rumbled on through the pandemic. Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn hit the headlines again as the long-awaited report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) was published. Following allegations that the party was institutionally antisemitic in its handling of complaints under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, the EHRC began to look into the matter. The findings resulted in Corbyn being suspended from the party and then returning to the party less than three weeks later.

Over in the Conservative camp, the daily Downing Street press conferences continued, with the pool system allowing an agency or newspaper to provide the lone independent source of photography. Providing Fleet Street's very own version of Russian Roulette, having your name announced as that day's photographer provided either multiple front pages or no interest at all, depending on who had been drafted in to present the figures.

By November, Wales was seeing the highest rate of infection across the United Kingdom. An invitation from the Ministry of Defence gave me the opportunity to travel to the Merthyr Tydfil area to see how the ongoing COVID-19 testing was taking place.

Restrictions and lockdowns of varying strengths continued throughout the year, with businesses facing incredible pressures. Among those struggling, taxi drivers had seen a total collapse in their fares. A virtual ban on international travel resulted in no passengers or tourists arriving, and the taxi ranks around London's airports were packed.

At London Heathrow, I was able to speak with just a few of those in the queue to pick up a customer. Again and again, I heard the same story; as fares dried up, drivers were forced to wait enormous lengths of time between customers. Many I spoke to were sleeping in their cabs and waiting as long as thirty five hours to make their way to the front of the line. At the end of all of that, the average fare was working out to be around £40.

Air corridors opened and closed as the virus moved around the world, meaning rapid result PCR tests became the next big thing, with companies stepping in to fill the gap in the market. Thankfully, because these were commercial ventures, it was much easier to gain simple access to the testing stations to see the swabbing in action.

In November, the country saw its first glimmer of hope with the roll-out of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. With the first few vaccinations being carefully stage-managed affairs, it was great to be able to spend two days at community health centres as the drug was finally delivered to the public. As with my experience with the South Central Ambulance Service, the manner, charm and attitude of those involved with delivering the vaccinations was a pleasure to witness. It's so rare that coverage of a health story, particularly a global one, can have a positive angle. The team of paramedics in Chertsey were particularly good at relaxing the pensioners as they processed the long queues, creating stories of which members of the team could mix the best vaccine cocktails, who could deliver the best shots and joking about how soon they'd see them in the pub now that they're on their way to being taken off that vulnerable list.

I should have known that 2020 would throw me one last curveball. The day after posting this review of 2020, safe in the knowledge that my year was complete and ready to be the archived, I was picked to be the pool photographer for the moment that the EU-UK trade deal, catchily known as "The European Union (future relationship) bill", was formally signed by the Prime Minister. Sometimes the most important historical moments aren't the most demanding of images but it was good to be able to add this to my ongoing coverage of the Brexit story. Ironically, with all of the current debate about restrictions of access for the media to big stories, my attendance was almost scuppered by an over-zealous guard on the door of number 10 who took exception to my colleagues taking photos as I walked to the door, denying my entry until they stopped, despite the press officer being with me. I should have known that 2020 was only ever going to end on such a bizarre note.

My thanks go to the NHS for their amazing work and to the departments who provided access to witness the work they do, the Ministry of Defence for giving me a chance to see the great work that the British Armed Forces is doing to assist in the nationwide work in tackling COVID-19, the South Central Ambulance Service for their trust and support during my visit, Freddie and Margaux in the big 10, the "Medical Detection Dogs" charity, the Reverend Lucy Winkett at St James's Piccadilly, Nikon UK for making great cameras, and then letting me play with the contents of their toy box, and to Getty Images for their continued support in letting me spend my time behind a camera. Finally, thanks to you for following my work and for reading this all the way to the end.

Hey, we managed to get through 2020 together!