Alexandra Park Covid memorial garden will be a place to 'sit and reflect'
A Covid Memorial Garden has been opened in Alexandra Park, Oldham, to honor those who lost their lives during the pandemic. The garden, featuring a memorial boulder and bench, was officially opened by the Mayor of Oldham, Cllr Dr Zahid Chauhan, as a place for reflection. The opening coincides with the five-year anniversary of the pandemic and the national Covid-19 Day of Reflection.
A new Covid Memorial Garden opened Tuesday at Alexandra Park, giving Oldham residents a permanent place to remember the thousands who died during the pandemic that began five years ago.
Mayor Cllr Dr Zahid Chauhan unveiled the memorial boulder and bench during a ceremony marking the national Covid-19 Day of Reflection, which honors both victims and frontline workers who served throughout the crisis.
“I’m honoured to officially open the Covid Memorial Garden in Alexandra Park,” Chauhan told attendees. “I was personally very keen to do something to honour those who lost their lives because of pandemic and those who worked tirelessly and made sacrifices.”
The memorial sits near the park’s conservatory, accessible from the bowling green car park entrance. Chauhan, who ran the world’s first Covid vaccination clinic for homeless people during his time as Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said the garden carries special meaning for him after losing close friends to the virus.
“Covid showed us how fragile our life is,” he said. “We lost family members and we lost our neighbours, and history has documented that many of us didn’t have the opportunity to say goodbye. Here at the Covid Memorial Garden here we can sit, reflect and think about how we can change the world and learn from our experiences.”
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