JULY
HONGONGOI 2020
“We don’t know how lucky we are!” by Ann Packer Remember those Christmas concerts in Muritai School hall when the black-singleted Three Trevs entertained us with Fred Dagg’s anthem? That refrain has never been more appropriate – and one of the singers remembers it well. Although Ashley Bloomfield thinks we do realise how lucky we are, he says it’s hard when the rest of the world is in turmoil. “We know there’s a storm raging around us, yet everything feels normal,” says the Eastbourne-resident doctor who, with the Prime Minister, delivered a daily update on the state of the pandemic as we locked down for Covid-19. The Bloomfields – wife Libby, also a doctor, is currently chaplain at Wellesley College – came to the capital from Auckland at the end of 1997 on a six-month contract as part of Ash’s public health training. When the contract was extended they started looking for houses, visiting every playground in the area with baby Olivia. On an “absolutely stunning” Wellington day they came to Bishop Park – and across the road was a house for sale. “The kids have grown up here and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Ash says. Like many New Zealanders, the Bloomfield family found lockdown a blessing. With all three children at home, there was no worrying about how they were doing in another city. It was a beautiful autumn – no traffic, no noise – and no matter what sort of day Ash’d endured they all sat down to a family meal at night. Saturdays were spent walking or biking – locally, of course. Early on, Ash says, there was great uncertainty. “You had to give advice based on patchy information. Keeping on top of it was
difficult.” Now, there’s so much information others do much of his research but in those days he was dreaming Covid-19. He had to remind himself “to get up every day and keep fronting up”. While people were isolated, they were connected by the “Ashley and Jacinda Show”, which became a rallying event. “It was a reminder to me of the power of effective communication – simple messages, repeated often, through a range of channels.” In fact, the Ministry had been practising since 27 January, when a team started rehearsing the “alert but not alarm” approach in preparation for lockdown. In spite of everything, Dr Bloomfield has never felt any sense of threat. “There was no malice whatsoever towards me, even from people whose livelihoods were affected.” When he started making the daily trek down Molesworth St from his office to the Beehive, drivers would slow down and toot. The gratitude continues – checkout operators ask for selfies, creative types embroidered hand towels and bags raising over $140,000 for Women’s Refuge. Hutt City gave him a citation, the Bloomfields have dined at Government House and especially appreciated the many expressions of support from locals. These days Ash sticks to his Saturdays off, mountain biking or running with the dog and friends in the hills. Sundays he goes into the office to prepare for the week or reply to letters from children. “Kids get anxious too. This has been a profoundly impactful event for children.” Their empathy is heartening: a recent bunch of letters from a school, noting he’d looked “sad” on TV, offered advice based on their own experience: “Eat junk food. Have a beer.” He is also going to play in an upcoming charity rugby game organised by Ken
Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
Laban at Wainuiomata against some of the Parliamentarians he works with. Dr Bloomfield remains confident we can beat the virus. “We still have the highest testing rate per confirmed case in the world…and the tracing app is being improved. But this calm patch probably means we’re just in the eye of the storm. “We really have to be ready for another wave,” he says. “It’s not if but when.”