Day of Reflection for COVID-19

Sunday 9 March is the Day of Reflection across the UK for the COVID-19 pandemic. On this day, people all over the UK will be remembering those who lost their lives during the pandemic and honouring the hard work and many acts of kindness shown during this time.

2025 marks five years since the pandemic began. The Day of Reflection provides an opportunity for people to come together and mark the day in ways that feel meaningful to them.

On this day, people are invited to:

• remember and commemorate those who lost their lives since the pandemic began
• reflect on the sacrifices made by many, and on the impact of the pandemic on us all
• pay tribute to the work of health and social care staff, frontline workers, and researchers
• appreciate those who volunteered and showed acts of kindness during this unprecedented time

You can get involved within the community, or at home.

If you’re hosting an event to mark Day of Reflection, you can add it to our Bucks Online Directory.

If you’re looking for events happening in your local area, you can use our Bucks Online Directory to find one near you. You can also look for events on the UK Government Day of Reflection website.

If you want to mark the day at home, some ways you can do this include:

• lighting a candle in memory of someone you have lost
• holding a moment of silent reflection for others
• donating to a charity that helped you or your community during the pandemic

The role of local government was crucial during the pandemic. In Buckinghamshire, we played a key role in supporting many essential response services, such as the Helping Hand programme, the vaccine delivery programme, and the Olympic Lodge reablement unit.

During this time, many of our workforce volunteered to be repurposed. We reprioritised both staff and resources where we needed them most, with a focus on our most vulnerable and those who needed to shield due to the pandemic.

We provided support directly to our residents. Some of the ways in which we did this included:

• issuing supermarket vouchers to over 1,100 families with children eligible for two years early funding during the school holidays
• issuing over 10,000 supermarket vouchers to eligible pupils during the school holidays
• provided 333 residents with basic care support, including picking up prescriptions
• distributed 658 food parcels to residents who were shielding
• housed over 200 people who were rough sleeping or at risk of rough sleeping
• delivered over 250 laptops for vulnerable pupils
• launched the Helping Hand scheme

We also worked in partnership with local businesses and community groups. Some of the work we delivered included:

• co-ordinated over 1,800 volunteers to help their neighbours and local community
• provided support to over 5,000 shielding residents via the Buckinghamshire Local Support Hub
• completed over 21,000 ‘keeping in touch’ calls in partnership with the voluntary community sector
• converted the Olympic Lodge in Aylesbury to 240 bed special social care facility for vulnerable adults
• received in excess of 200 offers of ‘mutual aid’ support from local businesses, co-ordinated with Bucks Business First

We also supported local businesses by:

• delivering grant payments to businesses to a value of £128 million
• awarding just over £480,000 through the 'Re-opening High Streets Safely Fund'
• issuing 100 nursery reliefs valuing £1.4 million
• issuing 3,135 extended retail reliefs to businesses valuing £83.5 million

You can read the full report of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.