Thread by @StefSimanowitz

On 5 March, it was reported that a 70-year-old woman in the Royal Berkshire Hospital, had become the first Briton to die of #COVID19

This Friday - exactly one year on -
we will take a moment to remember: a moment to grieve.

Light a candle
A minute silence 7pm
#CovidMemorialDay

Shakespeare says we must "give sorrow words" & he warns that "the grief that does not speak whispers o’er-fraught heart & bids it break”

#COVIDMemorialDay on 5th March, is a day to put words to our sorrow

It is a moment to remember: a moment to grieve
covidmemorialday.org.uk

The importance of grieving & the power of collective grief should not be underestimated

One doesn’t recover from grief. If you are lucky, you heal from grief. But never completely

Unless we process our grief, it can easily turn into anger or depression. amnesty.org/en/latest/news…

“If you see me - shivering & dumbed with loss - stand by me, because grief needs a witness”

Almost every country that has suffered large #COVID19 losses has held a commemoration

Spain had a 10-day period of remembrance & the first thing Biden did was to hold a #CovidMemorialDay

On 5 September, six months after the first British #COVID19 death, @CovidMemoryDay held a service & vigils

On 1 January, we marked world #COVIDMemorialDay

On 19 January, the US held Covid Memorial Day

5 March will be a moment for people in UK to grieve
euronews.com/2020/09/05/gri…

Grief is the collateral damage of love

The deeper the love, the more painful the grief

On March 5 2020, the BBC reported that a woman in Reading had become the first Briton to die of #COVID19

On Friday, we will mark #CovidMemorialDay UK.
@julie4north👇 northeastbylines.co.uk/covid-memorial…

“It doesn’t matter if you’re left or right, a vaxer or anti-vaxer, @piersmorgan or @Piers_Corbyn, we all need to take the a moment to grieve.”

#CovidMemorialDay is on 5 March, exactly one year after the first Briton was reported to have died of #COVID19.

“Does grief exceed words, or is it the other way around? How do you give voice to the animal howling inside of you?”

On Friday, people across the UK will share our individual & collective grief for the Britons lost to #COVID19

Take moment to remember & grieve.
#CovidMemorialDay

On #CovidMemorialDay

* Put a candle in your window

* Observe a minutes silence at 7pm

* Share a photo, poem, reading, a song, painting or memory

* Spread the word - encourage faith-leaders/MPs/celebs to get involved

* Encourage newspapers to mark it & journalists to cover it

In Britain with its “stiff upper lip” culture, we’ve never been good at dealing with loss

The COVID pandemic has made it even harder

But grief needs to be expressed & needs to be witnessed

#CovidMemorialDay is a day to share our grief, whether directly or indirectly affected.

"To heal we must remember"

For months, #Trump dismissed the rising death toll in the US

The first thing #Biden did on coming to office was hold a #COVIDMemorialDay

One American man summed it up the next day

"I had no idea how much I need that” he wrote

https://twitter.com/CovidMemoryDay/status/1366431868921532419