TODAY marks another grim milestone in the history of the pandemic - one year since the first Covid-related death in Southampton.

On March 16 last year the trust that runs University Hospital Southampton confirmed that a 69-year-old man had passed away after testing positive for coronavirus.

It was the start of a traumatic period which has seen more than 1,860 Covid-related deaths in Hampshire, including 473 in Southampton.

Alan Whitehead, Labour MP for Southampton Test, said: "This year has been incredibly tough for our city. There are people who have lost loved ones to Covid-19 or who have become ill themselves.

"Then there are many more who have lost their jobs or who have had to hold the fort down at home balancing working with home-schooling.

"I am proud of our city. People have sacrificed a great deal to keep each other safe and have come together to help their neighbours when it's been needed."

Royston Smith, Tory MP for Southampton Itchen, added: "One year on from the first Covid death in Southampton is a grim milestone.

"Every single death in the last year has been a tragedy and I know how hard it has been for everyone impacted.

"It has been inspirational to witness the resilience of local people but for now it is as important as ever, to continue to follow the rules to protect our friends and loved ones."

David French, interim chief executive of University Hospital Southampton, said: "I don’t think any of us could have imagined 2020 would turn out as it did, with all the challenges it has presented, but I couldn’t be more proud of everyone at University Hospital Southampton for their unwavering dedication and commitment to patients, and to each other.

"The loss of life from Covid-19 has been devastating and at UHS we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone who has been affected by this tragedy, including the families of staff members we have lost along the way.

"As is often the case in difficult times, exceptional people do exceptional things and that’s why we have been able to adapt our hospitals and services so quickly to contend with the difficulties we have faced.

"Very early in the pandemic, we took a leading role in helping to inform and educate local communities on how to protect themselves and each other through our COVID ZERO campaign, in partnership with the Daily Echo.

"The support we received by way of engagement from the public and patients and also our amazing staff ensured that we were able to manage infection rates better than many other parts of the system and country.

"Many of our services transferred online through virtual clinics whilst introducing online support cafes for patients and carers and implementing virtual visiting over secure video calls.

"The physical footprint of the hospital changed too in order to accommodate new wards and repurpose others to meet the demand whilst also managing to open £22m state-of-the-art general intensive care unit (GICU) and a dedicated cancer care unit during this challenging time.

"Throughout the pandemic, the outpouring of support from the public has been phenomenal and has given our staff a much-needed boost knowing the support that they had from their community. It is our staff, their health and wellbeing which the Trust is focussed on as we progress through this year.

"Our collective efforts have seen our Covid numbers decreasing and this along with the national vaccination programme has meant we can begin to look towards the future.

"That future means we can restore services and give the care that is needed to people across our community.

"But Covid is not over and so my final message is to ask that we all keep going.

"We are nearly there, but we still need to follow the guidance around washing our hands, wearing our masks and walking apart.

"By doing this we will not only be looking after each other, but helping enable health services to be restored and treat those people who are in need of our care."