Five years ago today, our lives changed dramatically. Prime minister Boris Johnson announced on national TV that Britain was going into lockdown to try to stop the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. “You must stay at home,” he told the nation.

In reality, the people were ahead of the state. Shopping centres and other public spaces were already empty as we stayed away from other people. A couple of weeks earlier, I moved seats on a London Underground train to get away from a passenger who was sneezing.

I was very familiar with Covid by March 2020. As part of PayPal’s PR team, I helped with communications to the company’s teams in China and the rest of Asia from January, sharing advice on staying safe from the virus and information about office closures. We had at least daily calls with PR people in the United States, Europe and Asia. As March arrived, I was busier than ever, especially as employees in Europe were asking to be allowed to work from home. I myself decided to do just that, exactly a week before the UK lockdown announcement.

On the morning of Thursday 19 March, I took a much-needed break from work, and popped into High Wycombe for what turned out to be my last proper shopping trip for four months. I was struck by the complete absence of people, as seen in the photo inside Marks & Spencer above. I could choose any table at Bill’s restaurant for a late breakfast. The next day, I did what turned out to be the last school drop off the 2019/20 school year.