The Covid-19 pandemic continued to deal more blows than we would have liked — or thought it would — in 2021.
Thankfully for our sanity, health officials, politicians and even those in the media were there to provide us with some light-hearted moments.
At 1News we decided to take a look back at some of those gaffes and meme-worthy moments. And yes, there are awkward facials and dance moves aplenty.
Covid-19 and intimate liaisons
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins managed to raise the eyebrows of Kiwis — including those of Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield himself — when he had a slip of the tongue during a press conference days into the Delta outbreak lockdown.
Speaking about people exercising during Level 4, Hipkins said it was a challenge for those in high-density areas to “get out and spread their legs” rather than stretch them.
“Right, I shall go and stretch my legs. I’m sure you’ll all have fun with me later.”
We did.
His hilarious gaffe made international headlines and set social media alight, resulting in numerous TikTok videos, remixes and memorabilia.
Hipkins embraced it, later sporting a “spread your legs, not the virus. Unite against Covid-19” mug during another press conference and taking a surreptitious sip.
Being intimate during the pandemic continued to make health officials and politicians alike uncomfortable, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern laughing on Seven Sharp when she declared “Tinder liaisons have reopened” when Auckland entered the traffic light system.
It even caught the attention of Stephen Colbert and wound up on The Late Show.
She also pulled some faces when herself and Bloomfield were asked in September about a visitor having sex with an Auckland City Hospital patient and how high-risk this was.
“Well, I think it’s a high-risk activity, potentially. However, I don’t know any of the details about that interaction,” Bloomfield said.
“I would say, generally, regardless of the Covid status, that kind of thing shouldn’t generally be part of visiting hours, I would have thought,” Ardern commented.
The moment also made headlines around the world and also featured on Stephen Colbert's The Late Show.
Graphs for the memes
Ardern became a meme in August after a picture of her holding up a heat map of close contacts to Covid-19 cases went viral.
Internet users photoshopped in numerous different images to replace the heatmap she was originally holding.
The Alexander Turnbull Library even collected a few.
A few days later, it seemed the prime minister’s internet fame did not escape her, as she held up another graph “for the memes”.
The prime minister’s “for the memes” line did not seem to escape Bloomfield or Hipkins down the track when they referenced slides during 1pm press conferences.
“Nobody tell the prime minister you’re allowed to do PowerPoints during these briefings!” Hipkins said on November 24 after Bloomfield had showed some slides on average case numbers.
A smile then played briefly about Bloomfield’s lips at the beginning of December when he showed some more slides on hospitalisations.
Busting out some moves
Breakfast’s “Red team” shimmied and swayed for months as they tried to provide viewers with a bit of fun and laughter during lockdown.
The moves of Jenny-May Clarkson, Jenny Suo and Matty McLean proved a hit on TikTok.
The 6pm Red team even tried to replicate the trio’s moves, with Wendy Petrie, Renee Wright and Andrew Saville jamming out to Mariah Carey's Fantasy.
And Bloomfield once again sent the internet into meltdown when he was filmed by Labour MP Barbara Edmonds dancing to Roimata in Cannons Creek, not letting a large crowd and cameras put him off his moves.
KFC and MIQ escapees
Lockdown cravings for KFC seemed to prove too much for some when two gang associates from Hamilton were caught at Auckland’s southern border trying to smuggle in more than $100,000 in cash and a boot-load of KFC.
Police said officers had noticed a suspicious looking vehicle travelling on a gravel road on September 19. Upon seeing the police car, the vehicle did a U-turn and sped off trying to evade them. The vehicle eventually pulled over.
Tragically, the KFC was discarded.
As serious as escapes from MIQ facilities are, a soldier and another person wearing PPE were snapped running down an Auckland street after one escapee.
They were after a 33-year-old Covid-positive man who had fled the Novotel & Ibis Ellerslie facility on October 30.
Politicians, the public and the Press Gallery
The 1pm Covid-19 press conferences have been known to thrust the work of Parliament’s Press Gallery into our homes and the Delta outbreak was no different.
Many Kiwis have been quick to take to social media to complain about the questions asked of politicians and health officials, and of course, document the “say what?!” and funny moments.
The fact the prime minister tends to open the floor to questions from Newshub’s political editor Tova O’Brien and 1News’ political editor Jessica Mutch McKay first has not escaped Kiwis' notice.
Hipkins even alluded to it himself in a press conference on September 29 and has been guilty of it too — scroll through to 19’38” in the November 24 presser recording for that moment.
“Now, happy to open up for questions. So with Jessica and then Tova, I believe, is the routine,” he said with a smile in September.
A month later on October 13 he was met with a chorus of “why nots” — six seconds worth to be exact — from the gallery when he said the Government wasn’t considering a circuit-breaker Level 4 lockdown for Auckland.
It went like this: “Some experts have said a circuit breaker Level 4 lockdown may be needed to stop cases tracking up in Auckland, what’s your thinking on that and would you rule it out?,” one journalist asked.
Hipkins response “That’s not something the Government is considering” was then met with the “why not?” chorus. People could be forgiven for thinking the Beehive theatrette had an echo there.
“Anyone else?” he asked with a smile and laugh when it was all over.
The late edition
And when we weren't expecting it — or Hipkins it seems — Omicron arrived at our doorstep and with it a press conference about a UK drum and bass artist infected with the variant who hit a jewellers, a bar, restaurants, and a nightclub when he should have been at home.
It is fair to say it was Hipkins' unusual entrance to this presser — more so than its setting — which set Twitter on fire once again.
The Covid-19 Response Minister walking through the bush for his standup at a Kāpiti Coast beach went viral. (Source: 1News)
Instead of walking the well-trodden path to the Beehive theatrette, he emerged from some bush at a Raumati South reserve and strolled down a path to the waiting stand of microphones and reporters.
The summer setting, with a soundtrack of birds and cicadas and children frolicking on a nearby playground, saw photos of Hipkins emerging from the bush hit Twitter, followed closely by the GIFs.
They included Homer Simpson emerging from a bush and Mayor Quimby making an address on a beach.
It was also compared to GIFs of Bilbo Baggins famous line “I’m going on an adventure” from The Hobbit.
People have even set his walk to the theme of Parks and Recreation, The Shire music from Lord of the Rings, WWE wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s entrance music, Darth Vader and Jurassic Park, among others.
To top it all off, his mum, Dr Rosemary Hipkins, came down to apologise for her son's tardy arrival.
She explained to waiting media he was late because he had driven to his home in Upper Hutt to get his suit and then got stuck in traffic.
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