Anger over no Welsh national Covid anniversary events

Families who lost loved ones during the Covid-19 pandemic have said they are angry there will be no nationwide anniversary events in Wales.

Communities will come together during a UK-wide day of reflection on Sunday 9 March, marking five years since the start of the pandemic.

Campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru said it was baffling that Covid woodlands of memorial had been created, yet no official events were planned for them.

The Welsh government said events were being led by community groups to mark the day of reflection.

Anna-Louise Marsh-Rees, from the bereaved families group, called for more to be done, adding: "It's hugely important to take one minute to remember those who've lost their lives.

"Please just let us have one day, one minute to remember our loved ones."

Some 12,300 people died because of Covid-19 in Wales, with more than 43,000 people admitted to hospital.

The campaign group was highly critical of the Welsh government's response, and called for a Wales-specific inquiry.

When evidence from Wales was instead heard as part of a larger UK-wide review, members of the group said officials had been "caught with their trousers down" and "sat on their hands".

As the fifth anniversary approaches, the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration recommended an annual UK-wide day of reflection "to offer communities across the country the opportunity to join together in commemoration of those who lost their lives".

Events have been planned across the four nations by community groups in churches, woodlands and halls, with a minute's silence and walks for people to share their memories and remember those who died.

"They have agreed to be part of a four-nation day of reflection, and we have been working with them on that," said Ms Marsh-Rees.

"Our concern is that they have refused to hold events at the Covid memorial woodlands that they created.

"It's just baffling to have created woodlands for the very purpose of Covid remembrance, but yet not hold events there, despite us asking."

Ms Marsh-Rees became one of the founders of the group after her dad, Ian Marsh-Rees, died aged 85.

He had been admitted to Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, after initially being admitted for a gall bladder infection.

There are two memorial woodlands in Wales - Ynys Hywel Covid Memorial Woodland in Caerphilly, and Hafod y Bwch Commemorative Woodland, in Wrexham.

When they opened, then First Minister Mark Drakeford said they would be "a symbol of the strength the people of Wales have shown over the past two years".

Ms Marsh-Rees said in the absence of any official events, she had created two "gatherings" at the woodlands to mark the occasion.

"It had a pretty seismic impact... and it just seems completely baffling to us that that the Welsh government would not want to mark it in any way."

She added the day was very important to her and it was an opportunity to remember those who died during the pandemic.

"Commemoration after a mass fatality incident like that is absolutely vital in many ways.

"To healing the bereaved, resilience in the community, to almost validate what happened," she said.

Last December, First Minster Eluned Morgan released a written statement which said the Welsh government was working with the UK government and other devolved governments to "ensure that the day is marked appropriately, with the expectation that by 2026, a new Covid Memorial Trust will lead on commemorations".

On Tuesday, North Wales Tory MS Mark Isherwood raised the issue in the Senedd, and said: "It's bad enough that the Covid bereaved have been denied a Wales inquiry and are almost invisible in the UK one, but to then ignore the day is truly insulting to all those that died and their families."

In response, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice Jane Hutt announced she would be attending the Ynys Hywel memorial in Caerphilly and government buildings in Cardiff would be illuminated.

A memorial event is also being held at a stone heart-shaped memorial on the Bwlch mountain in the Rhondda valley.

Bev Morris created it in March 2021, following the death of her mother Sheila Morris to Covid.

She has been working to restore the stone, using funding from the UK government Covid Commemoration Commission, and said: "It was very important to restore it.

"Time is not on our side and the weather.

"This year - five years, we said let's get it back up. People have come to me, saying it's lovely to see the heart on the mountain.

"People see it driving and it means so much to everybody."

The Welsh government said: "This weekend we will mark five years since the start of the Covid pandemic, which had such a major impact on all our lives.

"Those bereaved must be uppermost in our minds.

"The Covid 19 Day of Reflection is an annual opportunity for people to come together to remember those who lost their lives in ways that feel meaningful to them.

"In Wales, as across the UK, events are being led by community groups to mark the Covid 19 Day of Reflection on Sunday."

The UK government said the day of reflection was an opportunity for bereaved family to remember their loved ones.

"The pandemic impacted people across the UK, in different ways and individuals and communities should have the opportunity to commemorate in a way that is most meaningful to them," a spokesperson said.