Letter from Dr Bloomfield Lydia

Each day during lockdown, 8-year-old

Alford from Nelson would watch as Dr Ashley Bloomfield delivered the Covid-19 update. Like many other New Zealanders, she hung on the directorgeneral of health’s every word. A keen letter writer, Lydia decided to write to Bloomfield, thanking him for his contribution to the pandemic effort. ‘‘I wanted Dr Bloomfield to be noticed,’’ she said. ‘‘I wanted to make him happy, so he felt like he had done something that had made one kid very glad.’’ In her letter, Lydia thanked Bloomfield for the daily updates. ‘‘I wrote, it was a big responsibility and you had lots of courage to go in front of lots of people and say that.’’ She drew a picture of her waving. Her parents told her not to expect a letter back. But reply he did, with a handwritten card thanking her for her letter. ‘‘I’m very pleased to hear you enjoyed the daily messages through the lockdown,’’ Bloomfield wrote. ‘‘It was a big responsibility and fortunately I had a fantastic team supporting me!’’