Covid-19 coronavirus: Police surprise Auckland girl spending birthday in lockdown

Noureen couldn't have the party she had been planning but police made it special anyway. Photo / Facebook

Noureen Farag did not have the eighth birthday party she was hoping she could have, surrounded by her friends.

Instead, the now 8-year-old Auckland girl spent her birthday in her bubble with her parents.

The Farag family reached out to police to try to make Noureen's day a little bit extra special.

The family contacted police to ask if a friend of Noureen's who lives nearby could sing her happy birthday from a distance.

Constable Halim Hassouna, who, like the family, also hails from Egypt, heard the story and decided to take things one step further, by showing up on the day and surprising Noureen with balloons and a police dog toy.

It is Hassouna's first week as a police officer - he graduated from Police College at the end of March.

Noureen couldn't have the party she had been planning but police made it special anyway. Photo / Facebook

Keeping a safe distance, Constable Hassouna even sang her happy birthday in Arabic.

The video of the surprise was posted by police on Facebook and had more than 31,000 views in just six hours, with people applauding the warm gesture.

"Well done to this officer. On his day off he made a little girl's day very special," one person commented.

"This made me cry, what a beautiful man," another person said.

Noureen has named her police dog teddy "Lilly" and will no doubt have had a birthday to remember.

"I think we made her day," Constable Hassouna says in the video.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website