COVID DIARIES: This is not the time to celebrate victory over the virus

During life in lockdown she has been keeping a diary to share with Echo readers.

Here are Brenda’s latest thoughts...

“I’ve been busy helping my granddaughter Ellie, who’s in my support bubble, get ready to return to college in Canterbury. My daughter Alison and I have been organising her clothes, helping with her weekly meal plans and ensuring she has everything she needs for her studies.

She’s raided her mother’s wardrobe and taken clothes that Alison used to wear at Ellie’s age. Ellie is now the excited owner of some vintage, classic outfits!

She can’t wait to go back and experience some normality as well as warmer temperatures. I know everyone is getting a bit impatient now and we’re all desperate to get out and about. Infection numbers and the death rate are falling each week which is reassuring and evidence that we are heading in the right direction.

With everyone talking about the roadmap out of lockdown and a post-Covid life, it’s very important to remember that the message hasn’t changed.

We should all stay at home as much as we possibly can. This is not the time to celebrate victory over the virus, it’s about getting your head down, staying patient and sticking to the rules of keeping social contact to a minimum, wearing masks and washing hands regularly.

Soon enough I know we’ll be able to travel outside our local area but I am still planning to stay local. I think we should take small steps towards normality so we don’t have to go through another lockdown. My daughter’s birthday is in mid-April so I am hoping to enjoy a birthday lunch with her outdoors following the second stage of relaxations.

It’ll be the first time in a year that I’ll be visiting somewhere to enjoy a bite to eat. I’ll still be cautious from a hygiene perspective and keeping my distance from others but I am looking forward to it. Let’s hope it’s a fine glorious spring day.

The North East vaccination rollout continues to impress me. We’re so ahead of the game. The NHS and local councils have done a fabulous job.

We all need to keep playing our part by following the rules daily. Although schools are back and we can meet another person in the park, wemust remember that indoor socialising is still not safe. We can’t mix with people indoors. If we do this, it’s going to set back our journey to freedom.

It is a case of ‘Keep calm and carry on’. We just need to bide our time, stay at home and remember why we’re doing it: to keep the Covid R number down and ourselves and others safe. We’re a year into restrictions now and I know it gets tougher month by month but we can’t take our foot off the gas yet.”