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.
Wearing face coverings, maintaining social distance and sanitising our hands have become everyday habits now.
Now we are in a third national lockdown which will slowly be eased over the coming months.
Shops, cinemas, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs have sadly had to close their doors leaving us longing for the day we can reunite with our loved ones and enjoy doing the things we miss most.
Meanwhile, terms such as flattening the curve, self-isolating, quarantine, and contact tracing have become part of our vocabulary with press briefings from Downing Street becoming a regular fixture.
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.
March, 2020
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.
Schools, pubs, restaurants, cinemas, hotels, places or worship, libraries and gyms closed their doors and would remain shut for many months to come.
Bournemouth Airport became something of a car park for British Airways planes with dozens of jumbo jets seen parked up at the airport.
Picture by Stephen Bath
The former managing director of Bath Travel Stephen Bath estimated that Bournemouth Airport had a billion pounds worth of aircraft parked.
May, 2020
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 generally at Dorset's beauty spots as the weather warmed up and people became eager to get away from home.
Picture: Graham Hunt Photography
- Read more: Chaotic scenes at Durdle Door – prompting residents to step in to help with crowd control
Sadly, on May 30, three people seriously injured themselves jumping off Durdle Door arch into the sea.
Picture by Purbeck Police
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.
- Read more: Three helicopters lift casualties from Durdle Door as tombstoners spark 'critical incident'
- Read more: 'Residents felt trapped': Why Durdle Door bore the brunt of visitors in 2020
Speaking last month, Lulworth Estate said: "We earnestly do not want a repeat of this for the upcoming spring and summer as delicate environments cannot sustain the level of degradation they received in 2020.
June, 2020
Cruise ships started to become something of an attraction off the Bournemouth coast.
The first ship 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.
Picture by Linda Sheppard
Other ships which made appearances during the month included Ventura, Queen Victoria and Arcadia.
Picture by Geoff Bantock
Non-essential retailers were able to open their doors for the first time since March.
Signs encouraging us to social distance were appearing in high streets with queueing outside stores becoming the norm.
Shoppers adopted a cautious approach to returning to shopping centres and high streets.
The weather was hot and lockdown was starting to ease. With people unable to get abroad, thousands of people flocked to Bournemouth beach 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, urged people to stay away and return in July when hotels, restaurants and campsites were open.
Speaking at the time, Cllr 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.”
Litter, camping on the beach and traffic were just some of the issues which made headlines over summer with towaway zones brought in to deal with illegal parking.
July, 2020
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.
November, 2020
On the eve of a second national lockdown, many took to Bournemouth town centre to access the shops again before they closed.
Hundreds of people were seen walking up and down Old Christchurch Road and Commercial Road buying last minute items before non-essential shops close for four weeks.
Pubs and bars were also busy on the evening before lockdown with revellers making the most of their chance to get out and about.
Wetherspoons pubs across the town, including The Moon in the Square near Bournemouth Lower Gardens, Christopher Creeks on Lansdowne and The Parkstone and Heatherlands in Winton were seen with queues of people bearing the cold to grab a drink.
Halo nightclub was also open for a private function for 150 people.
Then came another lockdown which lasted until December. During this time, the beachfront was busy with people getting their daily exercise.
Covid marshals were seen on the beachfront talking to people and informing them of correct practice when out in public.
Despite the lockdown, hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters gathered in Bournemouth to voice their anger over the coronavirus restrictions.
Picture: BNPS
They marched through Bournemouth's Lower Gardens to Pier Approach, many not respecting social distancing rules and few wearing masks.
December, 2020
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.
Shoppers flocked to take the opportunity to stock up on Christmas presents in Bournemouth town centre.
Then on December 23, many parts of the country moved into Tier 4 measures as BCP and Dorset stayed in Tier 2.
- Read more: BCP and Dorset to remain in Tier 2 - but New Forest moves to Tier 3
As non-essential retailers closed their doors elsewhere, Dorset was one of the few places in the country where shoppers could be seen in the high street on Boxing Day.
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.
- Read more: BCP moved into Tier 4 of Covid restrictions - with the rest of Dorset in Tier 3
- Read more: IN PICTURES: What it's like in Bournemouth as BCP goes into Tier 4
This meant pubs and restaurants were unable to hold their New Year's Eve celebrations.
January, 2021
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.
Prime minister Boris Johnson said people would only able to leave their homes for limited reasons, with measures expected to stay in place until mid-February.
Town centres and beaches were once again deserted after Mr Johnson urged people to 'stay at home'.
University Hospitals Dorset said 600 beds could be needed to treat Covid patients by around January 20 with the projections branded "frightening".
February, 2021
In late February, local health authority Public Health Dorset said hospitalisations were still higher than seen at any point in 2020, however, the case rates were falling.
March, 2021
Dorset had seen a significant drop on case rates, hospitalisations and deaths thanks to the impact of lockdown and the vaccine rollout with case rates in the BCP area falling below the England and south west average.
What happens next?
From March 29, the 'stay at home' order will be replaced with advice to 'stay local'.
Gatherings of either six people or two households will be allowed outdoors only, including private gardens. Outdoor sport will also be allowed such as tennis and golf.
Then from April 12, hairdressers, non-essential retailers and gyms will reopen with pubs and restaurants allowed to offer outdoor service only.
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