The speed at which Covid-19 spreads has shocked many but nowhere more so than in the small Waikato town of Matamata.
Fewer than 100 people gathered at a bar there on St Patrick's Day yet before long, the town was host to one of New Zealand's big clusters.
For Josh Couchman, he had thought it was just the common cold in the beginning as he didn’t have a fever unlike others he knew.
Mr Couchman was inside Matamata's Redoubt bar and eatery when he unwittingly became part of one of the country's largest coronavirus clusters.
The Matamata cluster was the country's third largest 77 people contracted the virus, 75 have now recovered.
"Because of the pandemic I thought just to be safe I'd go and get myself tested and when I got the phone call to say that I had it... I was like 'oh blimey!”
His shock echoed throughout this small community, including the bar's owner Jacob Henderson who's still in disbelief over how quickly the virus spread.
"You think it's quite an even spread, you're with someone for x amount of time so you get it. But it doesn't work like that. Some people were in here for half an hour, I was in here for three or four days and nothing happened to me."
Due to his experience with a Covid-19, it's meant that unlike many others in the hospitality industry, he agrees with the Government's decision to keep bars closed another week.
“I think the timing is about right, I would've been upset if we had delayed it further. Especially with it happening here and knowing exactly what can happen. I'm as confident as I can be that nothing like that will happen again."
As the country moves to Level 2, the district's mayor is urging others to be vigilant against a second wave of infection.
"Because we had the cluster I think it became more real for people. I think if the numbers were low, really low. Then I think people may not have followed the guidelines from the Ministry of Health," says Matamata-Piako Mayor Ash Tanner.
Community leaders are now keen on getting and keeping a clean bill of health.
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