"I hope it goes some way to ensuring that the losses of the pandemic are never forgotten."
Samuel Lovett on the UK town which spent the longest time in lockdown
Throughout the Orwell Festival we are sharing new writing and insights from this year’s Orwell Prize finalists. Here, Samuel Lovett describes his approach to his report, ‘What we’ve lost’, shortlisted for The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils.
Since 2014, The Orwell Prize and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have worked together on The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils, a social issues journalism prize.
Named in recognition of the task Rowntree gave his organization ‘to search out the underlying causes of weakness or evil’ that lay behind Britain’s social problems, the prize supports and encourages original, insightful and impactful reporting on social issues in the UK.
Samuel Lovett is a Senior News Correspondent at The Independent. His reporting focuses on UK policy, science and global health. Winner of ‘30 to Watch: Young Journalist Awards 2021’ in health reporting. Nominated for two awards by the Association of British Science Writers. Named Best Young Sports Writer at the 2019 Sports Journalists’ Association awards.
Lovett writes: “‘What we’ve lost’ is an in-depth account of how Covid-19 swept through the city of Leicester, as told through the eyes of different families and people, each of whom suffered in their own unique way.
The purpose of the piece was to dive beneath the stats and figures which dominated the headlines throughout the height of the pandemic and bring a human angle to the tragedy that affected so many of us.
Those who shared their story with me had lost mothers, fathers, husbands and grandparents. Many had come within inches of death. Others worked on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19, or prepared the dead for burial as the city’s death toll reached unimaginable levels.
Leicester was chosen on account of its unique Covid experience, having spent the longest time in lockdown and reported some of the highest infection rates throughout the country. As the city where I was raised, there was also a personal desire to write this article. This connection allowed me to dig deeper into Leicester’s wonderfully diverse communities and unearth those stories which are often only discoverable through word of mouth.
Over two weeks, I tracked down and spoke with families and individuals from different backgrounds to hear their story and expose the true realities of what the city went through. From these conversations, I was able to weave together a chronological narrative for the city, one that runs from the opening weeks of the pandemic, when there was so much uncertainty over what lie ahead, to the closing stages of the Delta wave.
I’m incredibly grateful for the time that these individuals gave me; all welcomed me into their homes and spent hours talking about lost loved ones or their own struggles with Covid-19. I was delighted to see this piece nominated, and I hope it goes some way to ensuring that the losses of the pandemic are never forgotten for the people of Leicester.”