[The Guardian] 'The moment everything changed': Covering Covid-19 from Westminster

'The moment everything changed': Covering Covid-19 from Westminster

Our political correspondent on the bombshell briefing that changed the mood across the country

I was in the midst of the usual reporter’s juggle, trying to write on a notepad balanced on one thigh while resting a dictation machine on the other, when the prime minister’s tone suddenly changed, prompting me to look up. Standing in front of me at the lectern in Downing Street, Boris Johnson said: “I must level with you...”. What was coming next could only be bad news: these aren’t words typically used by a prime minister who trades in bluster, bluff and optimism.

He continued: “More families, many more families, are going to lose loved ones before their time.” It was a chilling remark and that was the moment everything changed in terms of reporters’ understanding of the crisis’s severity and unprecedented scale. You could hear a pin drop as we listened to the rest of Johnson’s address. Just inside Downing Street’s side door, where we retrieved belongings such as phones and laptopsthat are not allowed in the main building, we hurriedly rang newsdesks to double-check they had heard Johnson’s startling words for themselves. The next day I travelled to Northumberland to see my parents, who are in their 60s, and asked them to take the advice very seriously. We washed our hands so much that weekend we ended up with cracked skin.

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