Highs and lows of the Corona crisis, and other health news

Jonathan Van-Tam shore fishing on a beach in Norfolk, where he went to decompress during the pandemi’s intense phase Credit: Simon Townsley

When Covid struck, they found themselves on the frontline of the UK response. Three years on from the first lockdown, scientists and experts reflect on the highs and lows of the crisis – and reveal how they decompressed in quieter moments. Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, former deputy chief medical officer, described the intense phase of the pandemic as “like being on a warfront for two years”. He added: “I’ve struggled transitioning away from that and getting used to ordinary university life again. “When you’ve been doing something that intense and serious, with that much responsibility hanging over you, I think whatever comes afterwards is going to be difficult to adjust to. It’s as simple as that.” Prof. Van-Tam is one of 14 experts interviewed by reporter Samuel Lovett and photographed by Simon Townsley in this special project to mark the third anniversary of the pandemic. Today’s top stories The Covid origins data suppressed by China Explosive study published late on Monday night by an international team reveals that live wild animals were present at the market in Wuhan. ‘Floods swept my baby from my arms – then they took my husband and son’ Cyclone Freddy has killed at least 520 people and displaced tens of thousands of families. Mouse apocalypse looms at bird sanctuary The largest ever mouse eradication project is being planned for Marion Island to protect rare seabirds from the marauding rodents.

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