This whole very scary experience of Covid-19 has also been a lesson in the fact that I am part of an amazing community. Some idiots – yes - but mostly a community that keeps me safe.

I am an asthmatic, with a mild immunity issue, so am at risk. Before the shut-down I was becoming afraid. It felt like I was swimming in a pool of sharks. Or maybe more like invisible poisonous spiders.

I went to work to try and keep as many people as safe as possible as I watched my work-mates learn what we were up against, and what needed to be done to be safe – so much more than I too understood at first.

Every day was a ramp-up on scariness, and with that an awareness of precautions needed rising 100 per cent each day, until we were ready to go home and stay home.

Now I must wait a week longer to know for sure that no spiders found me in that time, which is a little scary.

But this is a letter of gratefulness. For me work stopped. I could go home to my safe little bubble, where I will strictly stay, and feel secure (at least for a while) that money was going to keep coming in.

So here I am, aware of the care that is being taken to keep me alive and safe by thousands of strangers that don't even know me, and most likely never will.

At risk of those nasty spiders people are still working to make tough decisions and lead this country to safety, police are keeping those that don't understand what they are doing in control, away from me, and keeping that evil virus in control.

Food is being harvested and transported, to sit ready in supermarkets where staff will work to keep us and themselves safe as best they can against an invisible enemy, hospitals are on stand-by if I need them, rubbish is removed, water keeps flowing into my taps, and sewerage is removed from my home, the lights are staying on, even deliveries are made to my home if I need them, I can fluff around on the internet, watch TV, keep informed, be entertained, even do exercises with a TV program.

I see people giving what little kindness they can from their bubbles in the form of teddy-bears, and checking on each other on the phone or internet.

I am sure I am not alone in seeing and feeling this, and I think we will all come out of this, if a little poorer financially, so much richer in our appreciation of those around us, even those we do not know.

I have never been so proud and thankful that I am a New Zealander.

And last, and most definitely not least, thank you all you heroes, from the bottom of my heart.

Helena Ellis, Greerton