Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the UK's first lockdown three years ago this week.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a wide-ranging impact on life in the UK, from health to education and the economy.

Here is an analysis of the latest data to see how Blackburn with Darwen has changed since the first lockdown.

Health

The most obvious effect the pandemic has had is on people's health.

The latest figures from the UK coronavirus dashboard show more than 220,000 people have died as a result of Covid-19 across the UK – of these, 633 were in Blackburn with Darwen.

But people's health has been affected in other ways, including receiving key check-ups, waiting times on referrals, and their mental health.

For example, cancer waiting times have ballooned since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Just 54.4 per cent of patients in England with an urgent GP referral for cancer treatment were seen within two months in January, the latest NHS England figures show – this is down from 74 per cent in February 2020, while the NHS target is 85 per cent.

In Lancashire and South Cumbria, 279 of 497 patients (56.1 per cent) were seen within two months – in February 2020, 325 of 456 (71.3 per cent) were seen in time.

Jon Shelton, head of cancer intelligence at Cancer Research UK, said: "The Government is falling short of its manifesto promise of improving cancer outcomes in the UK and significantly improving cancers diagnosed at their earliest stage.

"We need (health secretary) Steve Barclay to step up and commit to a comprehensive and fully funded 10-year cancer plan which transforms our cancer services from world-lagging to world-leading."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We are working to reduce the 62-day cancer backlog – which has fallen 35 per cent since peaking in 2020 – but we know there is more to do.

"Over 2.8 million people were seen after urgent GP referrals between February 2022 and January 2023 and it is encouraging to see more patients coming forward for vital checks.

"NHS England continues to actively support those trusts requiring the greatest help to cut cancer waiting lists and we are working with NHS England to make further improvements."

Many people's mental health has also deteriorated during successive lockdowns, with the latest NHS England figures showing more people are receiving support than ever.

In England, 1.8 million people were estimated to be in contact with mental health services in December – up from 1.4 million in February 2020 and the highest since records began in April 2016.

In the former NHS Blackburn with Darwen CCG area, 2,870 people received support for their mental health in December.

Education

The pandemic caused massive disruption to education, with schools forced to educate children remotely and attendance levels declining.

The latest Department for Education figures show 1.6 million pupils across England missed at least 10 per cent of their lessons in 2021-22 – more than double the 800,000 who were 'persistently absent' in 2018-19.

But in Blackburn with Darwen, the rate of persistently-absent pupils fell from 13.7 per cent in 2018-19 to 11.9 per cent last year.

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "Schools work very hard to encourage good attendance but have little support as local authority attendance services have also reduced as a result of government cuts.

"We need a nationwide attendance strategy which supports struggling families and schools."

The Department for Education said the vast majority of children are "in school and learning".

A spokesperson added: "We work closely with schools, trusts, governing bodies, and local authorities to identify pupils who are at risk of becoming, or who are persistently absent and working together to support those children to return to regular and consistent education."

Similarly, attainment for Key Stage 1 pupils has fallen in recent years. Every area in the country saw fewer children achieve the expected standard across all four key subjects: reading, writing, maths and science.

In Blackburn with Darwen, just 67 per cent of Key Stage 1 pupils achieved the expected standard in reading, 56 per cent in writing, 67 per cent in maths and 74 per cent in science.

Economy

Three lockdowns, furlough and restricted spending had long-lasting effects on the British economy. Businesses were forced to close, consumers were unable to spend freely, and many lost jobs and income during the pandemic.

One of the changes that occurred was the move to remote work. Figures from Google, which uses location data from phones and other personal devices to track trends in people's movement, shows workplace activity remains well below pre-pandemic levels.

The latest data, which covers Monday October 10 to Friday October 14 last year, shows footfall across the UK remained around 25 per cent lower than a five-week baseline period recorded before the pandemic – in Blackburn with Darwen, workplace activity was 19 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels.

Similarly, 2021 saw 327,000 businesses closed – a nine per cent increase on the year before and the highest number since 2017.

Of these, 565 were closed in Blackburn with Darwen.

Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Cllr Phil Riley said: "The Covid pandemic was a once in a lifetime disruption on a worldwide scale and it's no surprise that it's had and continues to have an impact on the lives of all of the people in the borough.

"In particular there's a lot of work going on in schools to try to help the younger children who have missed their formative years because they were not allowed to come to school.

"All of the work being done is to help them catch up, especially those from nursery age, so they can have this formative experience."

Laura Wharton, consultant in Public Health at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “Our borough was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, experiencing some of the highest case rates in England for a time.

“Our communities were hit hard by the pandemic, but Blackburn with Darwen is a resilient borough, and we are looking to the future with new plans and optimism, to tackle inequalities and promote better wellbeing, health and growth right across the borough.

"Resilience is at the heart of all we do, to help our communities adapt and become stronger through working together and supporting each other.”