LIVERPOOL City Council’s communications team has produced a special limited edition book chronicling the Covid-19 pandemic in photographs
Liverpool’s Covid Journey is a hard back publication which tells the city’s Coronavirus story from April 2020 through until March 2021 – and is believed to be a first for local government.
It uses powerful images to document key moments from the start of lockdown through to the vaccine rollout and the gradual reopening of society, including the pioneering role Liverpool played in the national response to the pandemic by piloting city-wide Covid testing and large scale events.
Liverpool’s Covid Journey also showcases individuals and organisations who helped keep people’s spirits up during the darkest days of the pandemic, such as young resident Fox Capper who wrote a thank you note on his bin to support refuse staff working through the lockdown, and Park Palace Ponies who took their small horses to visit residents in the Welsh Streets.
People featured in the book were given a copy during a special civic thanksgiving event at Liverpool Town Hall recently.
Although the book is not on general sale, copies are being distributed to libraries, community centres and schools.
An online version can also be read here: https://liverpoolexpress.co.uk/lcj/
Liverpool City Council Chief Executive, Tony Reeves, said:
“The pandemic has been an extraordinarily tough time for Liverpool, which has been very hard hit by case rates and deaths, and is something none of us will forget for the rest of our lives.
“But at this time of extraordinary crisis, we also saw the very best of the city and its people, with communities coming together to help each other out and support the public sector in its response to Covid-19, and the book captures some of that warmth and humanity.
“Liverpool was also a public health pioneer, leading the way with smart community testing and piloting large scale events to get the economy moving again.
“We wanted to produce something that would be a permanent record of the pandemic, showing our thanks and appreciation to those who made a difference to the lives of others.”
Director of Communications, Camilla Mankabady, said:
“We produced many hundreds of pieces of content over the course of the pandemic as we worked to keep staff, residents and stakeholders updated on a wide range of Covid-19 related stories.
“Whether it was recognising the kindness and dedication of our staff who swapped jobs to work in the Food Hub, the bravery of doctors and nurses in the Royal Liverpool Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, or community volunteers who helped shielding residents with their basic needs, we showcased people’s stories through a mix of video, photography, news articles, blogs, podcasts and social media posts.
“The book has given us an opportunity to physically showcase the best of the photographic content we produced, whilst at the same time thanking the communities who allowed us to tell their stories, which was so important in helping keep people informed and lifting spirits during what were very dark times.”