Relatives of Covid victims plead for memorial wall to be made permanent

The lives lost to Covid-19 have been commemorated by a minute’s silence on the first official National Day of Reflection.

Volunteers for the National Covid Memorial Wall on London’s South Bank were joined at noon on Sunday by the British public at the stretch of hand-painted hearts between Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Bridge.

A group of 10 volunteers relies on public donations to maintain the public memorial, but fear that without Government recognition the wall’s permanence is under threat.

For the Day of Reflection, volunteers strung heart-shaped lights along the 500 metres