Boris Johnson: Find out what life was like in West Fife when PM attended party in lockdown

The Prime Minister has said he believed the party on May 20, 2020, was a work event.

Government messaging at that time was to "stay at home".

We've taken a look at what was happening in West Fife at the time - including set up of temporary morgue, online streaming of funerals and unemployment claims up by 60 per cent. 

Here's a snapshot of what we were contending with in May 2020.

Temporary morgue

A former factory in Dunfermline was turned into a temporary morgue to cope with COVID-19 deaths.
The site was to be run by volunteers and plans for a “worst case scenario” were put in place in the event that NHS Fife could not cope with the number of people killed by the virus.

Football star goes the distance for NHS 

Keir McMeekin was doing hundreds of keepieuppies a day. The Pattiesmuir youngster raised more than £1,800 for the NHS by doing one mile of football trickery each day for the past 26 days. 

The 10-year-old, who plays for Heart of Midlothian’s under-11 squad, had set out initially to do a mile of keepie-uppies for one week.

Life in a care home

Headwell House, run by Abbotsford Care, closed its doors to relatives and non-essential visitors back on March 13, and it had managed to stay corona-free.

However, carer Tyrone Farlam was careful not to diminish how much of a struggle it had been for everyone there.

He said: “Families can’t see their loved ones during lockdown and that’s hard.

“I find it very hard as residents say to me, ‘Where’s my family, they haven’t came in to see me for weeks?’"

Suzanne Docherty, senior care home manager and Tricia Simpson, deputy manager, told the Press: “Nothing could have prepared us for the enormity of this."

Counting the cost

The financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fife Council was estimated to be £30 million.

Itt covers just 14 weeks of lockdown with a warning that the total cost could be much higher. Head of finance Elaine Muir said: “The financial implications of COVID-19 have been significant for the council as it has mobilised to deal with the pandemic across the communities of Fife. “

Officials probe 121 calls over lockdown breaches

Complaints and concerns about lockdown breaches led to Fife Council staff investigating 121 enquiries by May 11.

Volunteers needed to empty bins

Volunteers were needed to work on the bin lorries for Fife Council due to a high number of staff absences.

Street-cleaners, litter-pickers and grass-cutters were among those drafted in to collect household waste from the curb due to people being off work because of COVID-19.

A report said there was already an issue with staff absence which was “exacerbated” when lockdown began, leading to grey and green bins not being picked up.

Funerals begin to be live-streamed

Funerals started being live-streamed for mourners at Dunfermline Crematorium.

Fife Council started providing free webcasts from funerals at its crematoria in Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline as restrictions on numbers were still in place.

Many mourners lined the streets when they couldn't be present such as for lollipop lady Agnes Matthews. 

Job losses

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the Dunfermline and West Fife constituency in the month of April had increased by 60% compared to 2019, according to figures from the House of Commons Library. 

Building on hold 

Work on the fire-hit Woodmill High School was delayed. All pupils were originally due to be back together for the start of the new school year in August. Year groups had been split since a fire ripped through the school, destroying most of its buildings, in August 2019. 

Community group set up to help those hit by pandemic looks for premises as demand becomes too much 

Sarah Keeble first set up the ‘West Fife support for the vulnerable’ group on Facebook just before lockdown and it has gone from strength to strength, helping hundreds of people in the area.

It all started from the single mum’s home with a host of volunteers also keeping it running. 

Part-time return to school

After months of remote learning from home, pupils were told they would return to school on a part-time basis after the summer with the emphasis on digital learning from home - named “blended learning”. 

Lockdown: a time line of event

Boris Johnson said on Wednesday: “I want to apologise. I know that millions of people across this country have made extraordinary sacrifices over the last 18 months.

“I know the anguish they have been through – unable to mourn their relatives, unable to live their lives as they want or to do the things they love."

He added: “With hindsight I should have sent everyone back inside. I should have found some other way to thank them.

“I should have recognised that even if it could be said technically to fall within the guidance, there are millions and millions of people who simply would not see it that way, people who have suffered terribly, people who were forbidden for meeting loved ones at all inside or outside, and to them and to this House I offer my heartfelt apologies.

“All I ask is that Sue Gray be allowed to complete her inquiry into that day and several others so that the full facts can be established.”