For most of us in the UK, the current lockdown imposed to combat the spread of coronavirus has proved enormously disruptive to our day to day lives. We are working from home wherever possible, and travelling only when essential, meaning that some have been unable to continue working at all. Social distancing has limited our human interactions, we are getting used to talking to people across six feet of space, and meeting with friends in person has become a privilege of a simpler time.

Yet in the face of isolation, loneliness, and economic uncertainty, our response has been to band together. The ‘Clap for the NHS’ initiative shows the deep solidarity we feel for those on the frontline, and between the Houseparty app, pub quizzes on Facebook Live, and Zoom calls between friends and family members, we have pulled together as a society to weather the storm.

However, those of us adjusting to this new way of life should remember that for many of our most vulnerable, the last few weeks have meant no real change. For too many, and especially for those living in poverty, isolation has been their everyday experience for many years.

Data from the Social Metrics Commission’s Lived Experience Indicators shows that two thirds (66%) of people living in persistent poverty in the UK have an average social network of fewer than five close friends. One in five (21%) people in poverty live in families where adults believe that people in their neighbourhood cannot be trusted, and adults living in poverty are twice as likely to say they rarely or never feel close to others than those not in poverty.

In addition, many of our elderly had been living in unenforced social isolation for many years before any of the recent covid-19 restrictions. According to Age UK, there are 1.2 million chronically lonely older people in the UK, with half a million older people going at least five or six days a week without seeing or speaking to anyone at all. The organisation predicts that the number of over-50s experiencing loneliness will reach 2 million by 2025/6.

Research has shown us the disastrous effects that loneliness can have on our physical and mental wellbeing, with psychologist Julianne Holt-Lunstad suggesting that loneliness, living alone, and poor social connections are as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Now more than ever we are realising that the measure of the prosperity of our society is not just how much money we make but also the strength of our social networks and communities. By forgoing trips to pubs, restaurants, cafes, gyms, and cinemas, we have demonstrated our nation’s commitment to the protection of our most vulnerable. In the coming months, when eventually life begins to return to a degree of normality, my hope is that we have a deeper compassion for those who feel the burden of loneliness and isolation most acutely – that this time of crisis truly does bring us closer together.

• You can find out more about the Social Metrics Commission here.