IT’S been nearly three months since the lockdown was officially imposed in the UK to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Almost overnight, the usually busy and bustling Maldon town centre became a ghost town, with all but essential retailers remaining closed to customers.
Monday signalled the end to deserted streets with non-essential shops given the go-ahead to finally re-open.
Many hope it will bring back some sense of normality, but with new social distancing restrictions in place our town centres will have felt very different from how many shoppers remembered them.
Mid Essex Camera Club member Paula Wiseman captured these eerie shots of an empty Maldon town centre just before the lockdown restrictions on shops were lifted.
- Maldon's Moot Hall
These ghost town images have been a common sight over the past 12 weeks.
- St Peter's Hospital
They are also a stark reminder of how empty the town has become and how the Covid-19 pandemic has reshaped the world.
- Market Hill
The true impact of the virus, both socially and economically, will not be known for some time yet, but we can only hope these empty streets are now a thing of the past.
It will take some time for the economy to show the green shoots of recovery, but this feels like the first step forward, and one which will have been greatly welcomed by so many of our town centre businesses and shops.
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