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A cluster of islands: How Shetland locked down early and stopped the virus in its tracks
Jun 1, 2020
Early in the Covid-19 outbreak, the Shetland Islands were one of the worst-hit areas of the UK by head of population. Now, no new cases have been detected there for six weeks. Some experts say it offers the rest of the country a route map out of lockdown - but for the first family on the islands to test positive, it hasn't been easy.
It was a clear, bright Tuesday in early March when the plane began its descent. The Shetland archipelago stretched out ahead of the tiny twin-propeller aircraft. Iain Malcolmson looked through his passenger-seat window at the sprawl of islands, aware of how far north he'd just travelled.
Iain, 53, an architect, was on his way home. He and his wife, Suzanne, had spent a long weekend in the Italian city of Naples with four friends. They'd hesitated before setting off on 28 February - news bulletins were full of alarming footage of the Covid-19 cluster in Lombardy, 500 miles to the north of where they were staying.
Image copyright Iain Malcolmson
But official travel advice at that point was clear - it was safe to visit the south of the country - so they'd gone as planned. All the same, Iain recalled spending the trip fastidiously wiping down restaurant tables and washing his hands.
Now, after an overnight stop in Edinburgh, Iain would soon be back at the house in the tiny settlement of Nesting, about 12 miles north of the islands' capital, Lerwick. Locals call this leg of the journey the "white-knuckle express"; in strong winds, the plane has to take off and land at Sumburgh Airport sideways, like a crab. Normally, Iain preferred the 14-hour overnight ferry from Aberdeen. But on this occasion everything seemed calm.
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