Here's how Carlisle has changed since the first lockdown in 2020

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

We looked at the latest data to see how Carlisle 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, 516 were based in Carlisle.

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 the North East and North Cumbria, 488 of 890 patients were seen within two months – in February 2020, 344 of 452 were seen in time.

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 North Cumbria CCG area, 8,725 people received support for their mental health in December.

Education

Onto education, the pandemic caused major disruptions, 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.

In Carlisle, the rate of persistently-absent pupils rose from 9.7 per cent in 2018/19 to 11 per cent last year.

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."

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 Carlisle, just 64 per cent of Key Stage 1 pupils achieved the expected standard in reading, 55 per cent in writing, 67 per cent in maths, and 79 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, and figures from Google, which uses location data from phones and other personal devices to track trends in people's movement, show 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 Carlisle, workplace activity was 23 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels.

Similarly, 2021 saw 327,000 businesses closed, a 9 per cent increase on the year before and the highest number since 2017.

Of these, 380 were closed in Carlisle.