That's how long it's been since Whanganui was last in a Covid-19 lockdown.
We moved out of level 3 on May 13 last year and since then – save for a few weeks in the slightly more restrictive level 2 – we've been able to enjoy freedoms the envy of the world.
For 15 months we've been able to visit friends and family, travel the country, take part in sport and recreation, attend events, go to school, go to work and run our businesses pretty much as we please.
There's no doubt this pandemic has been tough on some – and a prolonged lockdown now could add to that pain – but on balance this approach still seems to be the best in the long run.
With the country entering level 4 lockdown again, we know the goal is to return to the freedom we've been enjoying as quickly as possible.
There needs to be scrutiny over how the much more transmissible delta variant got into the community and that work is underway.
We also need to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible, while stopping the spread if we want to contain this outbreak.
Level 4 is vital in making that work.
Our past success and the 462 days of freedom we enjoyed since the first lockdown is incentive enough to have another good crack and eliminating Covid-19 again.
We know the more seriously we take this the sooner we can get on with life as normal.
It's again an unsettling time but we've been here before. We are pros at this now.
Stay home, stay safe, look after each other, follow health advice and let's get back to level 1.
