𝕋𝕠𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕀𝕟 ℍ𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪: 𝔽𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕕 𝟙𝟡 𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝔸𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕒

𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕖 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕕-𝟙𝟡, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕒 𝕕𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕠𝕣 𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕣𝕦𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕.

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n the months and years that followed, the country would plunge into lockdowns; a nationwide state of emergency; and those ever present 1pm press conferences with former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern and former director general of health Sir Ashley Bloomfield.

Sir Ashley joined Breakfast this morning to reflect on the last four years and how things had changed since then.

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On the day of the first case, he said: “I had taken a couple of days off, my first days off in about a month or so, I had a long-planned mountain biking trip with some mates.

Former Director General of Health Sir Ashley Bloomfield reflects on when Covid was first recorded in NZ

“The call came that we had identified our first case.”

From the back of a van, Sir Ashley joined a Cabinet meeting via video call, and it was decided he would announce the case.

“Things did move incredibly quickly,” he said.

'Didn't feel at all prepared'

When asked how he felt during the early days of the country’s response, he said there were "several weeks where I didn’t feel at all prepared".

He called it "a time of great anxiety" and described waking up in a cold sweat some nights.

Former Director General of Health Sir Ashley Bloomfield reminds: NZ response best in the world

Eventually, "we settled into it, in New Zealand", and he used the few weeks before the country’s first community case to come up with the best possible response.

"Goodness me, they were decisions I never imagined the country would take, let alone that I would be a key part in advising those decisions. 

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"New Zealand’s response overall, given the uncertainty, given the volatility, given the complexity was really one of the best responses globally."

Sir Ashley said New Zealand as a people "pulled together" and showed a response of "coherence, of kindness and of solidarity".

"And I think we need to remind ourselves of that," he said.  

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