A silence will be held today to remember the 475 Renfrewshire people who have lost their lives to Covid-19.
They will be remembered as being among the 9,831 Scots who have died of the virus as Scotland marks the one year anniversary of coronavirus lockdown.
The nationwide minute’s silence will begin at noon.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that Scotland would go into lockdown on March 23, 2020, with measures coming into force the next day.
At the time the country’s death toll stood at 16.
In the months that followed, covid spread through Renfrewshire’s care homes, claiming the lives of 113 residents by June.
To date, 188 people have tragically died across the local authority’s 22 care homes - many of them without their loved ones by their side.
As of yesterday the region had recorded 475 deaths where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate as the cause of death or a contributing factor.
The region has suffered one of the biggest losses in Scotland.
Heather Kay, from Paisley’s Star Project, which has been at the forefront of the community response to the pandemic, said today marks the start of a wider remembrance for the people of Paisley and beyond.
She told the Express: “It has been one of the most challenging years this generation has ever experienced and, as we repair and heal from the trauma, the people we lost should always be at the forefront of our minds.
“We need to strive to appreciate our lives in honour of those who cannot.
“By remembering the people who died, we must make a commitment to lose no more.
“We lost thousands, one was too many.”
A total of 10,044 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Renfrewshire.
It means that at least 5.6 per cent of the local population have been infected with the deadly disease - although the true number is likely to be much higher.
However half of all adults in Renfrewshire have now received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, an incredible 66,834 people.
And of those, 7,439 have had a second jab.
Paisley-based MSP Neil Bibby, who has campaigned for greater covid support for Renfrewshire, said the period of reflection must coincide with a determination to build a fairer future.
“There is no precedent for what our community has gone through over the past year - a global pandemic, the deepest recession on record and massive restrictions on how we live our lives,” he
said.
“This has been a trying time for all of us, especially those of us who have tragically lost a loved one to covid.
“One year on from the first lockdown, this is an appropriate time to pause as a community in Renfrewshire and reflect on who we have lost and think of the families still grieving.
“Many families will not have been able to mark the passing of a loved one in the way they wanted due to the restrictions we are living under.”
The rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine last week saw the Scottish Government publish its proposed route map out of
Scotland.
The First Minister is expected to confirm today if the next step - the removal of the stay home message - will go ahead as planned on April 2.
