Shortland St in downtown Auckland is normally bustling. But lockdown has emptied the City. Photo / Michael Craig
Never in a month of Sundays did we ever think it would come to this.
New Zealanders have been asked to self-isolate in their homes, moving outside only for food shopping, exercise in their local community or to get medical help.
The only exceptions are for people working in essential services: doctors, nurses, police, supermarket workers and bus drivers to take them there.
Our roads are empty.
The parks seem busier and there appears to be more dogs than there used to be. But the swings don't swing, climbing frames remain bare, slides unslid as the unseen enemy potentially lurks on every surface.
A walk down the High Street is greeted with shuttered shops, wide-open footpaths and an eerie silence as if a dystopian vision of the future were being filmed in our towns.
That future is here today.
For those that are old enough, the scene is reminiscent of Sundays past: When families would congregate in their homes to share lunch, catch up on the week's events and retire for an afternoon snooze or game of backyard cricket.
For the next month, every day is a Sunday.
• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.