I think I'm the only member of our cohort who is privileged to be based in Tasmania at the moment. We hit the front pages for a few days when there was a Covid outbreak at North West Regional Hospital, but that was under control after a few weeks. In fact Felicity and I were in quarantine for two weeks - and we tested the system here to check its effectiveness!

We advised the Covid Hotline that we needed to go and buy groceries, but they forbade us to do that. They promised to get the Salvation Army to collect any order we placed with the supermarket (we weren't able to get a supermarker delivery as all the slots were taken for the next 10 days). We placed an order at Woolworths in Ulverstone and told them that it would be collected on the coming Saturday. We also briefed the Covid Hotline so that they could alert the Salvation Army.

On the Friday I called the Hotline to say that we'd still not heard from the Salvation Army. I also pointed out that I would have to go to Ulverstone myself if the Salvation Army didn't come through for us. They were alarmed at this - but said they would get back to me.

First thing on Saturday morning - when I'd still heard nothing - I phoned again - and warned them that I was about to break quarantine because they had not delivered on their commitment. This sent them into a spin, and they urged me to stay put.. I said that if I had not heard from them by 11h00 I would drive to Woolworths.

10 minutes later a captain from the ADF (Australian Defence Force) arrived at our house and warned me that I'd be breaking the law if I left the house. I told him that as we had run out of food I had no alternative but to protect my family. Shortly after that we had a call from the Hotline saying that our groceries would be collected and delivered that afternoon. They claimed that the emails they had sent to the Salvation Army had been clogged up in the system - and that they had just been received. We were very amused at the furore that our situation caused.

Having said that, the system works extremely well here, and we have now not had a Covid case for more than 4 weeks. Thus Tasmania is Covid-free. Most things are back to normal, and we're the envy of the world. This is why we call it the island of serenity.

If you've never visited this part of the world you're missing something really special. It is truly pristine - and incredibly beautiful. Seriously - put it on your bucket list!

You mobilized the Australian army! That Bell fellow said that you were capable of doing such a thing and that's why you had to lead the COB delegation on 25/05/15! Well done! Here, in NZ, we now have four individuals who have escaped from their lock-down facilities before their mandatory 14-day quarantine period was up. All were apprehended within 12 hours of 'escaping' and returned forthwith. However, the most recent escapee - here in Hamilton - is now sitting in jail!