TODAY marks one year since the first coronavirus cases were confirmed in Dorset.

Since then, we've had three lockdowns, a tier system with Dorset divided over New Year and, thankfully, a roadmap back to normality.

We've taken a look back at how much we've endured over the past 12 months, and the staggering events of 2020 we've lived through up to this point.

We've also spoken to our NHS heroes today as part of our special reflection on the day Covid arrived in Dorset.

At the time of the county's first case, just two people had died with the virus in the UK.

Over the past year we've seen:

  • Prime minister Boris Johnson plunge the UK into its first lockdown, at the time there were 27 confirmed cases in Dorset
  • Lockdown eased for the first time in May, with people allowed unlimited exercise outdoors
  • A major incident declared in the BCP area in June, when thousands descended to the beach on what was the hottest day of the year so far.

Our Premium feature takes us back through the key moments of the pandemic in Dorset.

You can subscribe to read it here.

At the time of writing, our case rate in the BCP area has dropped to 57.4, with Dorset's 46.8.

And the good news keeps on coming, with the latest figures released by NHS England showing 308,846 doses of the Covid vaccine given across the county, with more than 295,000 residents receiving at least one dose.

This means that compared to every CCG in England, NHS Dorset have delivered the twelfth highest total number of vaccines.