It was already taking hold in other parts of the world.
We were not being asked to wear masks. The World Health Organisation's advice was unclear and masks were not a part of our mandate.
However, this time around, masks have been deemed mandatory when people need to access essential services such as grocery shopping, going to the pharmacy, GP or getting a test or a vaccine.
The reason for this has been made clear, just by looking to New South Wales, where the Delta variant of Covid-19 is taking control.
The one and only time I've left the house since last Tuesday, I saw 100 per cent compliance with masks. I went shopping late at night when I knew there would be fewer people around and everyone I saw had a mask on of some sort.
Therefore, in my view it was disappointing to learn there are some people who are not sticking to the rules.
We reported last week a man who filmed himself trying to gain access to a supermarket without wearing a mask.
He was stopped by workers and police.
"What you are doing here is committing a crime, you are preventing me from getting food," he can be heard saying in the video.
He says he has an exemption from his doctor, which he declined to provide citing privacy.
That, of course, is his right.
However, I believe the point of getting an exemption is to provide it when challenged. What's the point of getting one if it's only to keep it between you and your doctor?
Police and emergency services are professionals and often become in possession of private information that laws prevent them from releasing. So, their asking to see a medical exemption, in my view, is quite reasonable and should not be seen as an attempt at breaching that privacy.
Also, as Western Bay of Plenty Katikati-Waihi Beach ward councillor James Denyer quite rightly said, there are groups who are willing to deliver food to vulnerable people who can't leave their homes for various reasons.
The science is clear. And so are the rules. Mask up or stay at home, we're all in this together.
