All of this is rather an elaborate way of noting that Covid-19 has been eliminated from New Zealand. Today, 75 days since the national alert levels were introduced and 17 days without any new cases of Covid-19 in the country, it’s gone. The last infected person, an anonymous woman from Auckland, recovered yesterday and therefore marked the end of the pandemic, in Aotearoa anyway. Thank goodness she was anonymous. Had the wider population known who she was, she would have been inundated with get well soon cards and bombarded with well intentioned gifts. I wonder how many grapes it’s actually humanly possible to eat?
Today we can move around as we wish, use public transport and shop without the fear of encroaching into someone else’s bubble. Social distancing is a thing of the past and good riddance. Not that I’m about to start going around hugging everyone I meet, I am British after all, but it’s nice to know that human interaction is back on the cards. The downside is that with the loss of social distancing, social awkwardness will return once again. What exactly is the etiquette for whether an au revoir is accompanied by a handshake or a hug? It would be great if someone could write it down, even if it’s just to avoid those awkward situations where an attempted hug becomes a half-crushed handshake.
From today, businesses can fully re-open and for us that means we have to return to the office. And I’m not sure what to make of it all to be honest. After over 11 weeks of working from home, having to get properly dressed and work in close proximity to colleagues is going to be a shock. I can’t get my head around it. Do I really have to go back to caring what others think, working to a stricter timetable and planning what to eat for lunch before I’ve even had breakfast? I suspect that I do. Boo!
At least our company has given us a few days to get back into office mode and we are not expected back at our desks.....well our real desks and not the dining room table that’s been doubling as a place of business for the past three months, until Monday. Six days reprieve.
I think to take the edge off the shock, I will move back in stages. Maybe start small and move my note pad tomorrow. A pencil or two the day after before taking the plunge and returning all of the IT kit I borrowed. Well maybe not all of it....do you think they’d notice a monitor was missing?
Hopefully this is the last time we have to hide away at home. There is a chance that the bloody thing will come back, the chances are that it will, but for the time being we have the opportunity to stretch our legs, see more of this stunning country and enjoy a beer or two in the pub. I’ll leave what I hope will be the final words on the matter to our Prime Minister;
“Our team of 5 million has both sacrificed and achieved a huge amount in just under 11 weeks as the world reckoned with, and continues to reckon with, a virus that went from obscurity at the start of the year to a global pandemic that will linger, with second waves a constant reality...And so while the job is not done, there is no denying this is a milestone. So can I finish with a very simple thank you New Zealand.”
