IT’S one year since the country entered its first national lockdown.
In the past 12 months, we’ve had to adapt to measures never experienced before.
Now we are in a third national lockdown which will slowly be eased over the coming months.
It’s been a strange, confusing and often scary time.
Here we look back at some of the key moments in Dorset from the past year in pictures.
England entered its first full national lockdown on March 23.
Town centres, public spaces and the seafront became eerily quiet in a way that we had never seen before as we got used to new restrictions and what they would mean for the way we live our lives.
Busy roads were empty, town centres deserted and people were told to work from home and only leave for exercise, to buy essentials or care for a vulnerable person.
Bournemouth Airport became something of a car park for British Airways planes with dozens of jumbo jets seen parked up at the airport.
The former managing director of Bath Travel Stephen Bath estimated that Bournemouth Airport had a billion pounds worth of aircraft parked.
In May, Dorset became something of a hotspot for daytrippers with Durdle Door bearing the brunt of visitors.
Thousands of people flocked to the World Heritage Site with concerns raised about overcrowding. Sadly, on May 30, three people seriously injured themselves jumping off Durdle Door arch into the sea.
Beachgoers were told to clear space so coastguard helicopters could land to enable the casualties to be taken to hospital in scenes never witnessed before.
Into June and cruise ships started to become something of an attraction off the Dorset coast.
Among the first to arrive was the Aurora which was followed by a number of other cruise ships as the pandemic took hold.
The cruise liners needed somewhere to anchor because there wasn’t enough room for them in Southampton.
Other ships which made appearances during the month included Queen Mary, Ventura, Queen Victoria and Arcadia.
With people unable to get abroad, thousands of people flocked to beaches to make the most of the sunny weather.
Unfortunately, this resulted in a major incident being declared by BCP Council with scenes of a very busy Bournemouth beach making headlines across the world.
Then leader of BCP Council, Vikki Slade, said: “We are absolutely appalled at the scenes witnessed on our beaches, particularly at Bournemouth and Sandbanks, in the last 24-48 hours.
“The irresponsible behaviour and actions of so many people is just shocking and our services are stretched to the absolute hilt trying to keep everyone safe.
We have had no choice now but to declare a major incident and initiate an emergency response.”
July 4 was a big day in the calendar as pubs, restaurants and hairdressers reopened for the first time in several months.
Many of us were finally able to lose our lockdown locks and get our first proper haircut.
Businesses couldn’t wait to welcome customers back through their doors but there were many changes for customers with PPE, social distancing and test and trace measures.
In November, on the eve of a second national lockdown, many took to town centres to access the shops again before they closed.
Pubs and bars were also busy on the evening before lockdown with revellers making the most of their chance to get out and about.
Then came another lockdown which lasted until December.
Despite the lockdown, hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters gathered in Bournemouth to voice their anger over the coronavirus restrictions.
Dorset residents saw a number of changes throughout the month of December.
The second national lockdown in November ended on December 2 with the BCP and Dorset areas entering the ‘high alert’ Tier 2 restrictions.
Schools, pubs, restaurants and gyms were open but there was no household mixing with the ‘rule of six’ applying in outdoor settings.
Then on December 23, many parts of the country moved into Tier 4 measures as BCP and Dorset stayed in Tier 2.
However, this didn’t last long as on December 30 the BCP area was moved into Tier 4 restrictions with the rest of Dorset placed into Tier 3.
The country entered its third national lockdown after many children had returned to school for just one day following the Christmas break.
The lockdown came in response to a surge in coronavirus cases across the country.
University Hospitals Dorset said 600 beds could be needed to treat Covid patients by around January 20 with the projections branded “frightening”.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here