Day 1 of the UNCOVER Conference 2021. Includes a keynote speech from Dr Gwenetta Curry (Exploring the link between Racial and Ethnic Inequalities and COVID-19) and presentations from UNCOVER volunteers: Dr Emma Farfan de los Godos (What is the impact of COVID-19 mitigation strategies on the mental health of post-secondary school students?); Dr Thulani Ashcroft (Stepping outside of the norm: the neighbourhood review); Dr Prerna Krishan and Yijia Dong (What is the infectious dose of SARS-CoV-2?); Peter Sloan (The association between university semester dates and the reproduction of SARS-CoV-2 at local authority level); Nadege Atkins and Bohee Lee (What is the risk of serious COVID-19 outcomes among adults and children with severe asthma?); Sanaz Behnood (Long Covid in children); and Jasmin Rostron (Long Covid: Challenges to evidence-based policy-making).