Volunteers for the Covid Wall of Remembrance have urged ministers to make the memorial permanent as the UK marks its first national day of reflection since the pandemic.

The wall, located between Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Bridge on London’s South Bank, is looked after by a team of volunteers who rely on public donations to maintain it.

For a day of reflection on Sunday, volunteers covered 500 meters of wall lights with hand-painted hearts and placed bouquets of flowers on each of the 25 panels. A minute’s silence is observed in memory of those who have died from Covid-19.

But volunteers worry that without government recognition, the wall may not become a lasting monument to the pandemic. Lynn Jones, 71, a volunteer from Stoke-on-Trent, now drives 150 miles every Friday after her husband died from Covid-19 , helping maintain the wall.

“No one else is acknowledging the pain caused by COVID-19,” she told the PA. “So when I come here, other people understand.

“People just want to forget about it and wash it away. We can never wash it away. We lost our husbands. It was a place for us to feel comfortable with each other. We just want the government to recognize it, acknowledge it , protect it and make it permanent.

“The government still hasn’t done anything. I think they just hope it will go away.”

Lorelai King, 70, from central London, who also lost her husband to COVID-19, said the wall was “made possible with the help of 10 volunteers” and stressed the need to protect this monument.

The organization collects donations from social media channels and writes them on the hearts of the bereaved families.

Fran Hall, a 63-year-old volunteer from Buckinghamshire, praised private companies for supporting the wall through donations but believed the government should go further.

“We are deeply disappointed that this matter was not properly publicized,” said Hall, whose husband died of COVID-19. “The Prime Minister has not made the announcement yet. It is not led by a major public figure such as the royal family or a high-profile politician.

“If we didn’t come every week, there wouldn’t be a wall.”

This year marks the fourth annual day of reflection, but for the first time it will be held on the first Sunday in March – a date recommended by the UK’s Covid Remembrance Committee.

The organization is also responsible for updating the coronavirus death toll, which was shown at one end of the Westminster Wall and stood at 237,114 on Sunday.

Marie Curie chief executive Matthew Reid said the end-of-life charity was acting in response to strong public demand for a day of reflection. He said: “We thought there was a real need to bring people together so that they could express their shared experiences of grief during the pandemic, but also their very personal, unique grief. We found there was a very strong demand from the public for this.

“For people who have lost loved ones during the pandemic, the trauma of grief remains deep.”

Regarding the existence of the Covid Memorial Wall, Reid added: “The wall provides a very strong visual memorial to those who died during that period. It has been an important focus for the family.

“The need for this type of space is huge. The volunteers who look after it do a fantastic job.”