Today in Auckland, New Zealand, the Prime Minister announced that the fourth lockdown we entered into from 6 am last Sunday (27th February) would be lifted at 6 am on the coming Sunday (7th March).

I am cautiously rejoicing the news. This is the fourth lockdown since the main lockdown started in March 2020. The second one after that, in August 2020, was surprising; my phone got an emergency alert when I was sleeping, and that really shocked me!

Two more mini lockdowns later, I am now convinced that another lockdown could hit anytime! Even this current one, which is announced to be eased down in about 30 hours, can be prolonged if we find even a single community case between now and then. I think that’s a good thing. We have employed an elimination, not a mitigation strategy in this country, and I love it! It is inconvenient and is hard work, but it saves lives!

I have been in the fortunate bunch of world population that isn’t affected by Covid. I don’t take it for granted. I have been able not just to survive but thrive in the last 12 months since the world is infested with Covid. More than I deliberately planned anything, I have been lucky!

From now on, I decided not to take freedom (from lockdowns) granted. 

I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic. I plan my activities while trying to be realistic and assuming that lockdown can hit anytime, as I learned from the last two lockdowns.