"I didn't actually quite believe it," admits Dr Ashley Bloomfield, when asked for his reaction to being awarded a knighthood for services to public health.
"I had to ask my wife to come and read the email to check I had interpreted it correctly."
That humility is what many New Zealanders came to love about the former Director-General of Health, who stood down from the role this year.
For two years he was the face of the country's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, holding daily press conferences with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
During that time, he oversaw major policy driven by what was, and wasn't yet known about the virus.
"When I applied for the role of Director-General, I didn't for a moment imagine there was a pandemic around the corner. None of us did," Bloomfield says.
"But certainly, I feel I did my job as well as I could. If that's been recognised, it is a great surprise and great honour."
His clear and calm manner of communication during that time contributed to him becoming somewhat of a celebrity.
When asked whether he felt as relaxed on the inside during those daily briefings, he laughs.
"Not in the slightest, I mean they were a big deal. Something of an ordeal really," he says.
"At 10 in the morning my cortisol levels would rise and I would start to really focus. Then there was two to three hours of preparation every day."
The former Director-General of Health has been awarded a knighthood for his services to public health. (Source: 1News)
While he says it didn't get any easier, he did see the daily briefings as important and stands by the decisions he made at the time.
"At the start of the pandemic, no one knew what was going to happen and we had to make these huge calls really.
"It is not a small thing to decide to close the border, or get everyone to lockdown at home for weeks on end."
When asked about his greatest achievements as Director-General, Bloomfield doesn't hesitate in his response.
"Taking on an elimination approach and being able to successfully deliver on that, and it was tough on everybody.
"And of course the second great achievement was the roll out of our vaccination programme and the fact that so many Kiwis got fully vaccinated.
"It really put us in a good position once omicron came along and elimination was no longer possible."
And as for becoming one of the most well-known public servants in the country, he says it never quite sat comfortably with him.
"When we were in that first lockdown, the only thing that brought us together were the one o'clock standups. So people in a sense got to feel like they knew me.
"I've had some lovely gifts, a pair of socks recently. All of the people who have approached me, bar one, have been unfailingly pleasant and grateful."
On reflection as to whether he could have done anything differently, he only hints at one early policy decision.
"I've been looking through the information and series of decisions around mask use and sort of felt maybe we could have been more precautionary early on.
"But the WHO evidence and advice on this didn't change until the middle of 2021.
"I think once we had good information, we did implement the use of masks and that definitely made a big difference."
Sir Ashley was central to New Zealand’s Covid-19 response. (Source: 1News)
Bloomfield is also philosophical about the misinformation and disinformation around the pandemic and effectiveness of the vaccine.
"Some of the misinformation and disinformation is a concern, and of course, with social media, that really amplifies the spread widely.
"I read a book on the history of disinformation. It's not new. In periods like the Cold War, it was a key part of both sides to undermine the position of the other."
The next chapter of Bloomfield's career will see him become a professor in the School of Population Health, and chair a new Public Policy Impact Institute.
"We saw how important that was during Covid, the need to really be on top of the research and the science and the evidence and implement policy quickly.
'I'm just looking forward to, I hope, improving the whole policy process in this country."
But it is those closest to him he is most keen to acknowledge for his string of successes that has led him to become a 'sir'.
"I just want to really acknowledge my family who supported me not just through the pandemic, but through my career. They got me where I am."
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