And here it is, the grim milestone. Creeping up over the last few weeks, today is the day, with another horrendous daily tally of 1,631 the total goes into six figure to reach 100,162. It has accelerated in the last month - it passed 70,000 on Christmas Day, and here we are, a month and a day later.
Difficult to know what else to say, other than to note this fact and reflect. It is, after all, just a number. It doesn't stop all of the 100,162 people being individuals with their own stories.
All we can do is continue to play our individual parts by respecting the rules and supporting the vital work that is going on. New case numbers appear to be decreasing, and rapidly, which we must take as a sign of hope, alongside the increase in the number of people (now over 6 million) who have received their first vaccination jab.