Covid lockdown in NZ
New Zealand is an island country which is isolated from the world,and the population is low for land mass. These factors, combined with the populations sense of unity to combat Covid 19, means New Zealands citizens seem to be celebrating their war on the virus rather than despairing their isolation. I have attempted to capture this countries personality during lockdown.
Government
On the 28th of February 2020 New Zealand records its first case of Covid-19, a 60 year old citizen returning from Iran. Jump forward 23 days, the virus has got out of hand and Prime Minister, Jacinda Adern, announces the country will be in full lockdown within 48 hours. No one is allowed to leave their house except to access essential services.
Unlike other western countries, New Zealands goal is not simply to flatten the curve of infection, but to eliminate it completely from their land.
New Zealanders are allowed to leave their house to visit the supermarket and are also encouraged to get exercise in their neighbourhood. They must practise strict social distancing, which means they have to keep at least two metres away from any other people. The supermarkets are marked with crosses for people to stand on as they cue to get their necessities and only a handful of people are allowed in at a time. Some morning queues 200 metres long can be viewed outside major food stores.
People
In the suburbs the streets are scattered with people jogging, walking and cycling. Curiously, New Zealanders seem to be positively upbeat. They are returning to their previously lost sense of community, by smiling and waving to each other or making small talk from a distance. In many ways, social distancing has paradoxically brought New Zealanders closer.
New Zealand has notedly compared themselves to suffering nations that wear the devastation of the outbreak. Instead of blaming their government for not having checks at the border in place early on, they revel in their unity to claw back the results of an all too late situation. At 7pm in the centre of New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, thunderous applause and clanging of pots can be heard. This is the people of New Zealand celebrating their supermarket staff, hospital workers and other citizens who are putting their lives at risk to serve others.
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