In May 2020, Scotland was two months into a full lockdown, with restrictions encapsulating every aspect of our lives from going to the supermarket to funerals.
Meanwhile, staff at Downing Street were allegedly “making the most of the lovely weather” at a garden party on May 20.
ITV released a photo of an email which was allegedly sent by the Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds, inviting over 100 employees to come together at the party.
It has been said that around 40 people attended, including Mr Johnson and his partner.
An email shared exclusively with ITV News provides the first evidence of a party on May 20, 2020 in the Number 10 garden – when the rest of the country was banned from meeting more than one other person outdoors https://t.co/yRtbPqrwGS pic.twitter.com/GtwSBZIyIr
— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) January 10, 2022
At the time, people across the UK were banned from meeting more than one other person outdoors.
While they reportedly partied, families in Scotland grieved loved ones they didn’t get to see one last time, the NHS was overrun and, on the day of the party alone, 50 people died of Covid.
Here’s what was happening across the north and north-east in May 2020:
1. Covid testing facilities
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards set up a ‘pop up’ Covid 19 test station in a Banchory car park.
Tests were not yet widely available, and this facility was only for anyone over the age of 65 and for key workers and their families.
2. Rainbows
Windows and walls all over the north and north-east were covered in rainbows.
The rainbow was adopted early in the pandemic as a symbol of recognition of those working tirelessly in the NHS.
3. Lockdown-friendly Nuart
Artists from across the world were poised to visit the Granite City for Nuart Aberdeen 2020.
It was cancelled because of restrictions, with organisers instead launching Locked Down Paste Up, which replaced big city tours and the creation of murals with posters depicting work from the proposed artists.
4. Non-essential retail closed
All non-essential retail remained closed in Scotland throughout May 2020.
It wasn’t until the end of June that they were allowed to reopen, and when they did, social distancing and face coverings were essential.
5. Union Street got a social distancing makeover
Works began to temporarily part-pedestrianise Union Street in Aberdeen to allow for better social distancing.
The aim was to steer traffic away from the street, with only pedestrians, cyclists and public transport allowed between the Castlegate and Holburn Street.
6. Highlanders face overnight trip to get to a bank
Royal Bank of Scotland closures caused by lockdown meant that people in Durness faced a round trip of 148 miles to the county’s nearest – and only – fixed bank.
Even mobile banks were stopped, meaning residents had no access to their accounts other than online.
7. Businesses turned their hand to sanitiser
Hand sanitiser was in short supply at a time when everyone needed and wanted it.
Many businesses across the north and north-east, including distilleries and redundant oil workers, started making hand sanitiser to sell and donate.
8. Sun’s out but no one’s about
Despite warm weather, Aberdeen Beach remained quiet with few gathering in groups. In normal times, the beach would be packed with people soaking up the sun.
At the time, people in Scotland were only allowed to meet one person from outside their own household outdoors.
9. John Lewis staff volunteered at NHS Grampian
A team of 13 furloughed staff from the Aberdeen John Lewis store, which later closed, volunteered to help out at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
They were recruited by NHS Grampian to help patients heading to hospital feel more comfortable during their stay.
10. Rural communities urged people to stay away
Rural communities feared that people who were furloughed from their work would grasp the opportunity to go on holiday.
Worried they would bring the virus with them, they put up warnings in case of the arrival of unwelcome visitors.
11. At-home exams
Thousands of university students took their final exams in the confinement of their childhood bedrooms in 2020.
Summer graduation ceremonies were cancelled and, to this day, some courses have still not returned to full in-person teaching.
12. Students called in to help NHS
At the beginning of May, more than 450 student nurses were working across NHS Grampian to help with the pressure put on the service by the pandemic.
Students worked on wards and in clinics throughout the pandemic, keeping up their studies at the same time.