The week coronavirus hit Brighton in front pages

The seaside city was thrust into the international spotlight as it became only the second place in the UK to record a case of the deadly virus.

A flurry of cases followed over the coming week as the eyes of the world watched on. A pub was shut after a customer contracted the disease, a GP was deep-cleaned when an employee tested positive and anyone who had been in contact with the virus was privately told to isolate - an alien concept at the time.

Here, we take a look back at the Argus front pages that documented the arrival of the virus in the city.

Argus front pages show what happened when coronavirus first hit Brighton and Hove

1. February 7 - Killer virus in the city

The morning after it was confirmed that a person from Hove had tested positive for coronavirus, -the third in the UK - this edition hit the shelves.

Inside, Hove and Portslade MP Peter Kyle asked people to stay calm. He said the patient's family had left the city "to be extra safe and cautious" after being checked by medical practitioners.

A source at the Royal Sussex County Hospital told The Argus that the patient "just walked in with the symptoms and has been shipped off to London". They said staff had been told to get their masks ready but, otherwise, "everything is carrying on as normal".

The patient was being treated at the infectious diseases centre of St Thomas' Hospital.

A largely unknown Professor Chris Whitty issued a statement saying "the NHS is well prepared to manage these cases and we are now working quickly to identify any contacts the patient has had".

The Department for Health and Social Care told The Argus that its executive agency, Public Health England, was "well-equipped" to deal with the situation.

Argus front pages show what happened when coronavirus first hit Brighton and Hove

2. February 8 - Panic buying

As news of coronavirus reaching the city spread, so did concerns over the impact it could have.

Shoppers rushed to pharmacies, supermarkets and more to buy hand sanitiser and face masks as they sought ways to protect themselves and others against infection.

After reports stocks of these items were already dwindling in Brighton, The Argus visited several sites in St James's Street to enquire about availability.

All of the shops had sold out of face masks completely, with staff saying supplies had been in high demand for weeks - ever since the virus was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

As a result, they said it had been harder to replenish stocks.

There were also very few bottles of hand sanitiser available at any of the shops.

Argus front pages show what happened when coronavirus first hit Brighton and Hove

3. February 10 - Windswept

The vicious winds and driving rain of Storm Ciara battered Brighton as further updates on the virus situation in the city trickled in.

It was learned that pub staff and patrons at The Grenadier in Hangleton, and a school pupil from the Portslade Aldridge Community Academy (PACA), had received private phone calls from Public Health England asking them to self-isolate after coming into contact with the Hove coronavirus patient.

Of course, at this point, The Argus still placed the phrase self-isolation within inverted commas as people adapted to the alien concept.

Those who received the phone call were issued with the now-familiar message that they were to stay at home for 14 days.

Another two people who had been in contact with the patient from Hove were also believed to have contracted the virus.

More information was also learned about the Hove coronavirus patient. It was thought he had caught coronavirus at a hotel in Singapore during a business conference which started on January 20. He was then believed to have spent four days at a chalet in the Contamines-Montojoie ski resort with his family in France, between January 24-28, before returning to Sussex.

A 48-year-old man named Bob Saynor who had been staying at the French chalet with him was also reported to have caught the disease, along with his nine-year-old son.

Elsewhere, rail company Govia Thameslink Railway said staff had been briefed on Public Health England advice, and a shop in Brighton displayed a sign saying, "It has arrived in Brighton".

Yung Feng Oriental Food Store in London Road only allowed customers wearing masks and disposable gloves to enter the shop, with store owner Lincoln Zeng telling The Argus these measures had been put in place "just in case".

A fourth UK coronavirus case was confirmed over the weekend, but the location was unknown.

Argus front pages show what happened when coronavirus first hit Brighton and Hove

4. February 11 - Virus spreads

The County Oak Medical Centre in Carden Hill was closed and cleaners in hazmat suits descended on the site after a GP tested positive for coronavirus.

A sign in the window warned patients of "operational difficulties".

The infected GP was one of four new coronavirus cases confirmed in Brighton and Hove the previous day.

Public Health England director Yvonne Doyle said these new cases were "all closely linked to one another" and the health body had traced their contacts.

All contacts were asked to self-isolate for 14 days.

Following this revelation, the original Hove patient was widely referred to as a "super spreader".

As well as his time in Singapore, a French chalet and The Grenadier pub, he was also reported to have taken a "runner's yoga" class at the Cornerstone Community Centre in Hove before developing symptoms.

Though it is unkown if the two incidents are linked, EasyJet confirmed that it had been contacted by Public Health England after one of its passengers on a flight from Geneva to Gatwick had tested positive for the illness.

All passengers "in the vicinity of the customer" were contacted.

As well as this, a University of Sussex student was seen to be taken to hospital to be tested for the virus.

Video on social media showed an official in protective overalls walking with a person towards an ambulance.

University chiefs said the student had been overseas and informed health professionals of their concerns.

Argus front pages show what happened when coronavirus first hit Brighton and Hove

5. February 12 - Wash your hands

Council bosses held "catch it, bin it, kill it" signs aloft at an emergency coronavirus press conference at Hove Town Hall on the evening of February 11.

Journalists from across the country attended the announcement, in which they told people to "practise good hygiene" to stop the spread of the disease.

Then council leader Nancy Platts said the emergency press conference had been held because they "knew people were worried".

Elsewhere, the Hove "super spreader" was identified as businessman and scout leader Steve Walsh.

Speaking from hospital, he said in a statement that he had phoned NHS 111 and attended an isolated room at hospital.

When his diagnosis was confirmed, he was taken to an isolation unit and his family were also told to isolate.

By this stage, the virus had been linked to five schools, four GP surgeries, a care home, a community centre and a pub.

Argus front pages show what happened when coronavirus first hit Brighton and Hove

6. February 13 - Isolation

A nurse who was isolated to prevent the potential spread of coronavirus spoke out against the way self-isolation was managed.

She had been advised to stay at home after coming into direct contact with someone who had tested positive for the illness.

Speaking anonymously to The Argus, she said self-isolation was "not being dealt with effectively".

She said she was sent home from her workplace wearing a face mask, but was taken home by a cabbie who was not wearing any protective equipment.

The nurse was then dropped at her doorstep with little advice on what to do next.

A a result, she was left relying on picking up grocery and takeaway deliveries from her doorstep to get by.

In other news, an A&E worker was reported to have treated patients for two days at Worthing Hopsital before being diagnosed with coronavirus.

Staff received a memo saying their colleague had been diagnosed after working in the department on February 4 and 5.

East Worthing MP Tim Loughton said the infected A&E worker had stayed at the French chalet with Steve Walsh along with other GPs "from the Brighton area".

Argus front pages show what happened when coronavirus first hit Brighton and Hove

7. February 14 - Pussycat Dolls will play Pride

Bizarre as it now seems, life largely continued as normal despite the early rumblings of what would become the largest health crisis in lived history.

The Pussycat Dolls were confirmed on the 2020 Pride line-up, with the girl band's announcement being met with great excitement by fans in Sussex.

Less than two months later, organisers would announce the cancellation of Brighton's biggest annual event as a result of the escalating coronavirus crisis.

In August, more than half a million people from Brighton and beyond celebrated the event from their homes as organisers miraculously managed to pull together an online celebration of all things Pride.

Though the news of the Pussycat Dolls' confirmation featured on the front page, coronavirus updates continued to arrive.

An eight-month-old baby became the youngest suspected coronavirus case, with it believed the infant contracted the illness in Worthing.

The Argus also spoke to vulnerable people in Brighton including two leukaemia patients and the mother of a child with a rare syndrome which weakens their immune system, who revealed their fears over the threats posed by Covid.

Argus front pages show what happened when coronavirus first hit Brighton and Hove

8. February 15 - Girl sent to school in mask

A father says his daughter was threatened with exclusion after she wore a mask to school.

David Branch sent his nine-year-old daughter Honey to school wearing a mask and disposable gloves as she had been off school with a virus earlier in the week.

Mr Branch said Honey, who attends Hove Junior School in Holland Road, was told “straight away” to remove the mask.

He said: “My daughter got upset as she wanted to keep it on.

“She’s not disobedient and she’s not disrespectful, but she was worried.

“When she put it back on they threatened her with ‘time out’, which is when they send you out into another room by yourself.

“Then she was told if she put the mask on again she could be excluded.

“She wasn’t excluded but it was going that way. I was really upset when I picked her

up and she told me.”

Mr Branch said he did not intend to “scare anyone” by sending Honey to school in a mask, and he was surprised by the school’s reaction to it.

He said: “I thought they would have understood and taken my concern about it a bit more seriously.

“I was not doing it to dress her up. It would be terrible if there was an outbreak at the school in a few weeks' time."

Alongside this, Brighton and Hove City Council admitted the urgent coronavirus press breifing held just days before had been hosted in a chamber that had only recently been deep-cleaned after being visited by someone who later tested positive for coronavirus.