The Hits: Siren signals the return of Covid 19

The Hits DJs, Megan Banks and Adam Green. Photo / File

I was fast asleep. Not even dreaming, outright gone, the slumber of a man who rises before the sun, and has three kids in the evening.

The siren came in surround sound, my wife's phone and mine bursting to life with the alert of Covid's return.

Thoughts came rushing to the forefront, rousing me quickly from my rested state, "Where?" "How Many?" "Do I have enough wine?" "I can't be a teacher again" as I scoured the news sites like a puppy sniffing for scraps.

Like so many people I had become mildly complacent, enjoying the freedoms of our hard-fought win against an invisible enemy, with nary a thought to the pandemic raging like a Californian wildfire across the globe. "Don't panic," I told my quickly spiralling internal monologue "there was more than enough bog roll last time once we all stopped buying ten thousand rolls a shop, and the supermarkets were always open."

I didn't panic-buy last time, but hiding somewhere in my evolutionary chemical reactions, was an urge to rush out and stock up, just in case.

I quickly fought that away, the reality of the situation becoming clearer as I read my way through the internet; level 3 Auckland, the rest of New Zealand in level 2.

"Oh sweet, level 2. Wait... What's level 2 again? We can drive places, right? I'd better google level 2."

Sleep had now fallen by the wayside.

"Do I have a sore throat? Not at all, why am I even thinking that?" and with that, it was time to put my phone down, take a deep breath, and take stock of just how good we still have it.

While Covid's return was a shock, it is by no means the end of the world. The family involved were both brave, and wise to be tested, and thankfully the majority of NZ was ready to spring into action and work towards a common goal again.

The kids were still going to school. Teacher Dad did his best, but for a real education, the professionals are best, and my appreciation for the teachers of Hawke's Bay rose again.

We can still travel - carefully and with lots of hand sanitiser - but Aotearoa and the beaches and walks and beauty are still open for business. (Kia Kaha Auckland, we'll see you again soon too I'm sure.)

Safe in the knowledge that the sun would rise again and another day in the best little county in the world awaited me, I turned, closed my eyes, and wondered. Do I have enough bog roll? - Adam Green

Don't miss Adam Green and Megan Banks on The Hits Hawke's Bay from 6am to 9am, Monday to Friday.