UK Covid patient zero was first confirmed at a hospital two years ago today

The UK’s Covid patient zero was confirmed two years ago today, as the country continues to battle through the pandemic.

A mother who was visiting her son, who studied at the University of York, was confirmed on January 31, 2020, to be the country’s first Covid cases.

Both were Chinese nationals, and were from the Hubei province in China, where Wuhan, the city where the outbreak began, is.

Only a few days earlier, the son had called 111 after he became worried about the symptoms his mother was exhibiting.

He told them about his mother’s persistent cough and fever, now all too familiar symptoms.

Life during the pandemic has been tough for many since the outbreak began. File image (AFP via Getty Images)

Later that evening, two paramedics in hazmat suits, arrived and took the pair away in an ambulance to a hospital in Hull, where they were tested.

Then, on January 31, they were taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where it was confirmed that they both had tested positive for Covid.

It was then, the UK had its first Covid cases.

Medical staff members wearing protective clothing arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan on January 25, 2020 (AFP via Getty Images)

However, there is a chance that earlier cases were simply not reported or made aware of, or sufferers were asymptomatic.

At this point, there were 213 confirmed deaths worldwide along with 9,800 infections.

However, due to a dearth in testing capacity globally and a lack of awareness around the budding pandemic, the real numbers could have been far higher.

It wouldn’t be until February 4 that the government would advise Brits to leave China if possible and not until February 11, that coronavirus is officially branded ‘ Covid-19 ’.

Throughout February, the virus rapidly spread across the globe, including in Italy, where harrowing pictures emerged of overflowing hospitals.

In March, the UK began feeling the brunt of the pandemic, with Boris Johnson holding his first press conference on March 16.

Then, on March 23 the Prime Minister put the UK into lockdown.

A convoy of coaches carrying British nationals evacuated from Wuhan in China amid the novel coronavirus outbreak and medical personnel in a protective suit head towards an NHS facility (AFP via Getty Images)

In the two years since the first cases, the home nations have confirmed 16,468,522 cases, 176,813 deaths and administered 137,979,992 jabs.

The two years since have been tough for many as a number of issues around education, inequality, employment, domestic abuse, healthcare, local services and more have worsened.

The first Covid death in the UK was 84-year-old Peter Atwood from Kent.

London, January 26, 2020, people wearing face masks to protect themselves because of the then epidemic in China (Getty Images)

His death was originally thought to be caused by heart failure and pneumonia.

However, at the end of August that year, tests confirmed he died of Covid-19.

In the two years since the first confirmed cases the UK has been irreparably changed and the effects of the Covid pandemic will likely be felt for years more.