I'm in New Zealand, where a single COVID-19 case sent the whole country back into lockdown. It's scary, but it's the right thing to do.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at a lectern with flag and a man in the background — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during a press conference on the latest COVID-19 situation on August 20, 2021.
Mark Mitchell - Pool/Getty Images

After months of being relatively open, New Zealand returned to lockdown after one COVID case.
Journalist Emile Donovan describes what it has been like in his native Auckland.
"The best chance we have to enjoy freedom in the future is to accept restrictions in the present."
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On the afternoon of August 17, just after the news of New Zealand's new lockdown broke, I went to the supermarket around the corner from my flat in Auckland. The line stretched around the block. The shelves were bare.

Hours earlier, our hearts sank: one case of COVID-19 had been discovered - after more than 150 days of no community cases.

At 11.59 p.m. that night, the whole county entered nationwide alert level four lockdown for the first time since April, 2020. It was initially for at least three days but will last until at least August 24.

You can only leave the house to buy groceries, exercise locally, or go to work if you're an essential worker.

I'm spending it with my girlfriend in a two-bedroom suburban cottage we moved into a month ago.

Man in PJs on a bed with Macbook on his lap — Emile Donovan at home during the lockdown.
Courtesy of Emile Donovan

I'm not sure what's happening with my work - the podcast I host is intensive and difficult to do remotely.

While we wait for a decision on the podcast, I spend my days wandering around the house in my dressing gown, making cups of tea, perfecting my crepe recipe, and vaping elegantly.

It's a far cry from the last level four lockdown. I chain-smoked through that one. I was stressed and anxious, drinking too much and eating badly.

Then, the future was uncertain. This time, we know what we're doing. We have done this before, and we can do it again.

Between the lockdowns, life has been as close to normal as it could be anywhere in the world. I've been to films, comedy shows and concerts, birthday parties, a ski weekend to the South Island. It's been easy to forget about the virus.

The only reminders are the QR codes we scan when entering businesses, the masks we wear on public transport. For many months, COVID simply hasn't been a big part of many people's lives.

When Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the move to level four, it was impossible not to feel fearful.

New Zealand's fast move to lockdown might seem draconian to people outside the country. It's strict and uncompromising. Terrible for business. Lonely and claustrophobic.

But you have to see it in the context of how normal life has been here for the past 15 months.

Since mid-2020, things have been open. You could grab lunch at a humming restaurant, get a haircut, go to a concert, attend a protest, and watch the All Blacks rugby team play a match at a packed stadium - all maskless.

There have been blips. On August 12, 2020, Auckland went to alert level three - colloquially known as "level four, but with KFC" - after four cases were discovered in the community. It was there until August 30. It went to the same alert level this year on February 14 for three days.

In June, the capital Wellington went into alert level two - where businesses and venues can stay open subject to health measures - for six days because an Australian couple tested positive for COVID after sightseeing there.

All of these outbreaks were stamped out quickly and decisively. But this time it's different.

Some have decried the limitations this snap lockdown places us under, but we are the ones who have had freedom this past year or so.

When the threat of COVID became clear, we made a plan, hunkered down, followed instructions, and made sacrifices.

It worked. Despite the openness we've had, this country of five million people has had fewer than 3,000 cases and just 26 deaths.

This is the first time the whole country has been fully locked down since April, 2020.

Locking down is also one of the few weapons New Zealand has, as the vaccination rollout here has been frustratingly glacial.

I don't mind following instructions if I think they make sense. I feel as though I'm doing my bit.

It's my mum's birthday at the end of the month. I almost certainty won't make it down to Christchurch to see her.

But I know that, ultimately, the best chance we have to enjoy freedom in the future is to accept harsh restrictions in the present.

One of the most perplexing things I've seen in other countries has been this absence of community: the idea that individual rights trump all.

Our decisive response bought us time and was a stark contrast to the baffling inaction in the USA and the UK.

Closer to home, the Australian state of New South Wales hesitated when the Delta variant emerged there in June. In two months, it has gone from six daily cases to 644.

Lockdown isn't any easier here. Our Zoom calls aren't any better. There's nothing exceptionally neighborly or resilient about us.

But our lockdowns were short and sharp. Short enough to give us hope. Sharp enough to emphasize that this is really serious.

We know lockdown works if everyone plays their part.

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