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Francine Chen

New Zealanders on Thursday awoke to an unprecedented lockdown a day after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak, as the number of cases surged to 262.
During the four-week lockdown, only essential services – including banks, supermarkets and pharmacies – will open. People have been warned to stay at home as much as possible, and although they are allowed to go out for essential reasons, they must maintain a distance of two metres from another person.
“The streets are essentially empty … that’s a remarkable feat and I want to thank New Zealanders for that,” Ardern said at a news conference.

Most of New Zealand’s reported cases were linked to overseas travel, although at least four were believed to be the result of community transmission.
Up to 10,000 New Zealanders abroad were expected to return home over the next five days, and Ardern said authorities expected “several thousand” more cases to be confirmed before strict self-isolation rules began to “flatten the curve” of new infections.
“If community transmission takes off in New Zealand, the number of cases will double every five days,” Ardern warned on March 23, two days before she placed the country on its highest alert level.


A NEW NORMAL
The crisis has plunged New Zealand into a state of uncertainty, with many people fearing job losses, income instability and significant impact to their daily lives as they adjust to a new routine.
Fine Lavoni Koloamatangi, 31, a graduate teaching assistant, said she would be working from home, a period she expected to be difficult given she lived in a household of eight people.
“My parents will be working from home and it’ll be interesting to see how it works out – my mum works as an interpreter in the hospital, so most of her interpreting will be conducted over the telephone,” said Koloamatangi, a New Zealander of Tongan descent.
New Zealand man with coronavirus was in mosh pit at packed concert
The Auckland resident said with three generations living under the same roof, her family had been taking heightened precautions, “including wearing masks and carrying hand sanitisers around”.
“We live with my grandmother who’s 85 years old, so she’s considered most at risk of Covid-19,” she said. “Due to socio-economic inequalities and realities, the fact that we’re Pacific Islanders means she’s more at risk, so we’ve been doing our best to ensure she’s got everything she needs for the next four weeks – although to be honest, she’s healthier than most of us.”

Rush-hour Auckland in lockdown. Good morning everyone. pic.twitter.com/aQXCvkoRC8
— Kim Baker Wilson (@kimbakerwilson) March 25, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 460,000 people worldwide, has rocked the New Zealand economy, prompting the government to announce a NZ$12.1 billion (US$7 billion) relief package on March 17.
Dixon Cheng, a freelance web developer, said these were “tough times” for gig workers such as him and his wife, a graphic designer. He had a contract with a client that was due to end in May, and “there’s a bit of uncertainty around whether there’s still work available then”.
“My wife’s design work … has been extremely quiet the past couple of weeks, with lots of leads and projects put on hold,” the 39-year-old said. “A long-term client of hers is suffering majorly due to the fact that their core business is to provide sales training, and they’re obviously unable to hold any workshops in person under the current circumstances.”
If community transmission takes off in New Zealand, the number of cases will double every five days.
Jacinda Ardern
Cheng said balancing childcare while working from home was also challenging.
“We have two children, ages six and two, who were attending school and kindergarten prior to the shutdown and are now both at home,” he said. “It has been chaotic trying to juggle work and kids at the same time – with us having to find new and creative ways to entertain them during the day.”
Although worried about his income prospects, the Auckland homeowner said the slowdown represented opportunity. “We are trying to remain hopeful there’ll still be work in the digital space as people are coming up with creative ways to still operate their business online during this time.”




FEARS FOR VULNERABLE GROUPS
As the country’s alert level escalated, concerns mounted about the impact on at-risk populations, including people sleeping rough who were unable to access secure, hygienic accommodation for self-isolation.
According to the 2013 census, some 41,000 people were either homeless or did not have secure, long-term or adequate accommodation.
The Lifewise Merge Cafe in Auckland, an NGO that supports homeless and low-income residents, was among the thousands of non-essential businesses which had to close by Wednesday. However, it said it was working to support the most urgent cases, with 15 people placed in emergency accommodation on Wednesday.

The organisation was also delivering grocery packs to rough sleepers and those who had been housed in motels.
“We were able to house a number of people yesterday, including a family that had been living in a tent,” said Zoe Truell, Lifewise manager of practice and development. “There continues to be a need for more accommodation to ensure our most vulnerable have somewhere to stay.”
Police and crisis services were also bracing themselves for a surge in people needing support for domestic violence.
Acknowledging the difficulties an extended stay-home period may create for some, the police on Wednesday urged men to think twice and seek help via a special hotline before harming a loved one.

As we head into the lockdown, we know that things are going to get anxious and that this will cause tensions in whanau. If you feel like it's getting too much, then call 0800 HEYBRO (439276) to talk. pic.twitter.com/qCK6txUBIb
— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 25, 2020

New Zealand has the highest rate of family and intimate-partner violence in the developed world, with police receiving one report of abuse every four minutes on average.
Justice Minister Andrew Little last week said the pandemic response had “the potential to put a lot more stress on … families, and we know when that happens there’s usually an increase in violence in the home”, local media reported.
Shine, a domestic abuse charity, said reports overseas showed a rise in abuse during times of crisis, and that it was working with the Women’s Refuge to increase support for victims.
“We’ve seen in China that family violence skyrocketed in the provinces hardest hit by Covid-19,” Holly Carrington, Shine’s policy adviser, told The Spinoff news website. “Based on that, we are expecting an increase in physical violence here.”
In Malaysia, domestic violence spikes amid coronavirus lockdown
In Australia, Greens Senator for NSW Mehreen Faruqi called the coronavirus outbreak a “gendered crisis”.
“Not all homes are safe places. Quarantine or self-isolation at home will put many women and children at risk,” she said in a speech on Wednesday.
Canada on March 18 announced that C$50 million (US$35 million) out of its C$82 billion coronavirus relief package would go towards domestic violence shelters and sexual assault centres, while homeless shelters would receive C$157.5 million in support.

Women’s advocates and domestic violence experts have been warning us that domestic abuse increases during times of crises. I’m terribly worried that these warnings have not been heeded by this Government that has long resisted adequate funding for the needed resources and refuges
— Mehreen Faruqi (@MehreenFaruqi) March 25, 2020

TOURISTS STRANDED
Meanwhile, thousands of tourists caught out by this week’s self-isolation rules and lockdown in New Zealand also faced a challenge to adapt.
Some on tourist visas were dealing with the financial setbacks of a longer-than-scheduled travel period, while others on work-holiday visas were scrambling to find jobs and accommodation. Some travellers struggled to return home due to flight cancellations and international travel restrictions in countries such as Singapore, which on Tuesday barred entry to all short-term inbound visitors, including those on transit.
According to official figures, there were nearly 130,000 temporary visa holders in New Zealand as of March 12, including about 20,000 from Britain and 8,600 each from China and the United States.
Has ‘Jacinda-mania’ peaked? New Zealand PM’s popularity tested
Kenny Mah, a Malaysian traveller stuck in New Zealand, was left in a bind after his hotel announced it would shut down at noon on Wednesday.
“Many travellers have maxed out their credit cards and severely strained their resources in such situations,” he wrote in an article in the Malay Mail.
Mah said after liaising with several parties, including the Malaysian High Commission and the volunteer NZ Malaysia Business Association, he managed to secure a place to stay in Auckland “in the nick of time”.


LIFE GOES ON
For other New Zealanders, being cooped up at home was an opportunity to be creative and spend more time with their loved ones.
Carl Non, a 35-year-old IT worker, said: “Churches have been closed, which is tough, but some of the local churches are streaming services online which we can tune into so our Sunday routine remains the same.”
He said the coronavirus outbreak was not going to get in the way of his regular game night.
“Where my friends and I would previously meet and hang out to play [card game] Magic: The Gathering, we’ve had to now get creative and set up video conferences to both keep the hobby alive, and also have that level of social interaction,” Non said.
University tutor Koloamatangi said the unprecedented lockdown had created anxiety but had an upside.
“At least this gives us some time to spend with our families, rest and reflect on our lives,” she said. “There’s always a silver lining to everything.”
 

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A man wearing a mask walks through a deserted Wellington CBD on March 26, 2020. Photo: AFP

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Two people practising social distancing wait for a bus in the normally-busy central business district (CBD) after the Level 4 lockdown came into force, in Wellington on March 26, 2020. - New Zealand at midnight on March 26 imposed a four-week lockdown in a bid to smother coronavirus infection rates and avoid the mass fatalities seen elsewhere in the world. (Photo by Marty MELVILLE / AFP)

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During four-week period, only essential services will remain open and the public has been urged to stay at home as much as possible
Country bracing for surge in abuse cases, with activists saying spikes of family violence have been reported around the world during crisis, including in China



During the four-week period, only essential services will remain open and the public has been urged to stay at home as much as possible.
