Covid times: How the pandemic changed us

Friday, 28 February 2025

Covid, it was the most extraordinary of times.

Thousands lost their jobs, businesses closed, education went online, our vocabulary expanded to include phrases such as social distancing, rapid antigen testing and lockdown, parents had to watch babies being born via Zoom, weddings—including then PM Jacinda Ardern’s — were called off.

And across the globe people were dying.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) was advised of the first worrisome signs of a 'pneumonia of unknown cause' in Wuhan in December 19, 2019.

Within weeks a novel coronavirus, initially called 2019-nCoV, then SARS-CoV-2, and later still Covid-19 had been isolated.

The Government, aware of the emerging threat, swung into action, convening several working groups and activating what’s known as the Officials Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination (ODESC) system, signalling an emerging event of significant concern.

Covid, it’s a thing

On January 30, 2020 WHO declared a global health emergency.

Friday, February 28, marked the fifth anniversary of what, at the time, was believed to be New Zealand’s first confirmed case of the coronavirus. The patient, an Auckland man in his 60s, had returned home from a visit to Iran, via Bali.

A historical coronavirus diagnosis was later discovered and retrospectively designated to be the true first Covid-19 case in New Zealand. It involved a person arriving from Italy on February 21.

The first case of local transmission was reported on March 5, and on March 19 the country’s borders closed, with people returning to New Zealand required to self isolate for 14 days.

Two days after that, with 56 cases, the response ramped up. The four-level alert framework was introduced and the country went into level two.

Where early advice had centred on good hand hygiene (wash for as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday) and staying home if sick, Kiwis were now being banned from holding some gatherings and events.

On March 25 the country went into full lockdown. “To be absolutely clear,” Ardern said, “we are now asking all New Zealanders who are outside essential services to stay at home and to stop all interaction with others outside of those in your household.”

The making of Ardern, the crisis communicator

The Covid-19 years would ultimately become a political lesson for the textbooks. That is, with effective communication you can bring the public along with you in a national emergency, unite them and give them something to believe in (but voters, loyal only to their circumstances, will pay you back if and when they lose faith - we’ll get to that).

With an ongoing crash course in epidemiology Ardern, frequently calm, clear and appearing pragmatic, made no bones of the fact that every decision would be grounded in science. The biggest of them all - to instruct a country-wide lockdown or the move to close the border - came with a trade-off for the Government, like inevitable shocks to the economy and social cohesion.

But a large part of the Government’s success in the earliest days was Ardern’s ability to effectively communicate complex science, how it influenced her decision-making and why the public should accept it and follow suit.

At that time, Ardern was the antidote to Trump, and Boris Johnson - world leaders who had failed to bring their own populations along with them.

Ultimately, the lingering upshot of that was in the future voters would keep in mind who they would want leading them when a genuine national crisis occurred.

Introducing the team of 5 million

Travel and other restrictions intensified over the next month.

Hotels became quarantine facilities, officials ticked off “Stamp it Out” plans and contact tracing apps, Kiwis stuck overseas were required to participate in a since ruled “unjustified” lottery system to get home (this would become a huge point of controversy, and one which the Government struggled to defend).

In the outbreak’s early days the “team of 5 million” rallied, the 1pm press conferences became compulsory viewing, Arden and Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield symbols of the collective good. Most of us accepted border restrictions and lockdowns were essential to protecting us against the effects of unchecked spread.

We were exhorted to “be kind”. Service workers became part of our hero group; applauded alongside our tireless medical staff as essential workers.

But as the months dragged by fatigue set in and the team began to splinter.

Levels 3 and 4 became a game of two halves. In the leafy burbs the vaccinated professionals walked their newly acquired puppies on empty streets, griped about the struggle of working from home with the kids and hubby around 24/7, shared photos of overflowing recycling bins - “so much wine, darling”— and baked.

For others, to actually have work would have been a bonus. Those essential workers had no choice. They couldn’t work from home even if they wanted to.

Restrictions, at varying levels, continued, but it was Aucklanders who had to deal with the longest time in lockdown. The city endured 120 days of staring at not much more than four walls in the spring of 2021 following a community outbreak while the rest of the country was enjoying its freedom.

The Government: turns out, pretty powerful

The high-stakes environment was the new lens with which New Zealanders scrutinised and judged the Government through. Rules that seemed arbitrary or lacking in common sense were difficult to enforce, and those with the heaviest weights to carry - businesses having to shut doors, families separated at the border or even those whose families disagreed over vaccination requirements - were the most outspoken.

The Government’s initial fast-acting response to a few hundred cases of Covid-19 in the country would be lauded globally: a “hard and fast” lockdown of just a month, one which, at least in comparison to other countries, let New Zealanders quickly return to their lives for the rest of the year.

But by 2021, when other countries were quickly becoming vaccinated and Covid-19 had evolved into a more viral strain, Kiwis were unvaccinated and lockdowns remained one of the few tools the Government had in its toolkit.

The latter half of the pandemic response represented a slow erosion of trust and confidence which would spell disaster for Labour at the next election.

Eighteen months after the first case arrived in New Zealand, 2021 became a particularly high-stakes time for the Government as it struggled to effectively communicate to the public the exit route out of contact tracing, lockdowns and alert levels or traffic light systems.

The rules became blurry, difficult to communicate and poorly understood. Vaccines were slow to arrive. The public lost its patience, and times were tense.

The Government’s press conferences were initially a useful tool for addressing the same questions from media in one hit while also being able to directly address the public, and for a time they were politically worthy with an audience hanging off every word, every day.

But as time wore on they also became a microscope on a Government under pressure: longwinded, Ardern visibly annoyed with journalists, and, later, an unfortunate comment by Ardern about Government being ‘the single source of truth’ became fodder for the conspiracy crowd.

From hero to zero

Ultimately it was too-long lockdowns, (in the case of Auckland), onerous contact tracing rules and vaccine mandates - a major flash point - culminating in the disastrous Parliament occupation in February and March 2022.

Critics contend the depth of anti-government feeling that generated was a major factor in Labour’s election defeat - and New Zealand First was able to return back to Parliament, partially through riding that wave of dissatisfaction, and appealing to the more outspoken fringe groups.

From its 2020 election success where it was decisively returned to power with a clear majority, to just three years later in 2023 when voters took revenge for lengthy lockdowns and an economy in poor health, the pandemic was a historic make, and then extraordinary break, for the Labour Government.

The ‘learnings’ and the legacy

Three years on, the first report from the royal commission of inquiry into New Zealand’s pandemic response conceded the mandates exacerbated workforce issues and shortages in some sectors, as well as worsening “difficult social consequences” for those who chose not to get vaccinated.

Experts at the time pointed to the first Global Health Security Index, published in 2019, which ranked New Zealand 35 out of 195 countries in overall pandemic preparedness, and showed the country was lacking in key capacity areas, as being instrumental in helping officials focus on areas that needed improvement as the pandemic progressed.

The commission, however, found that while lockdowns were effective, the country could have been less reliant on them if it had been better prepared.

Despite that, the country’s response, which shifted from suppression to elimination, to minimisation, and finally, protection, was lauded around the world. Peak rates of hospitalisation were around half that of the US and UK and there were low numbers of Covid-19 related deaths in residential aged care.

Despite that, the pandemic had also decided Ardern’s political legacy as both the arbiter of kindness over toughness - but also as the villain of many people’s stories. While locally Ardern was held responsible for unpalatable aspects of the pandemic - like job losses of the unvaccinated, or the separation of families - around the world other world leaders, celebrities and foreign populations showered her with praise, demonstrating that the minutiae of domestic policy has no bearing on global popularity.

There are more ‘learnings’ to come. Phase 2 of the Covid-19 inquiry began last month. Its focus is to review key decisions the Government made in certain areas between February 2021 and October 2022. These include the use of mandates, the approval and safety of vaccines, lockdowns (especially the national lockdown in August and September, 2021, and the Auckland/Northland extended lockdown late 2021) and testing, tracing, and other public health tools.

Changes from how we toil, to how we have fun

Covid delivered a body blow to life as we knew it, not only amplifying existing inequalities but spawning behaviour that, looking back, reflected the enormous pressure people were under.

“It’s not the Thunderdome. It’s not Mad Max. We don’t need to do that,” was the response of an Aussie cop after footage on social media showed a group of women brawling over toilet rolls in a supermarket aisle.

Similar antics followed here as the fog of survivalism closed in. Even police stepped in to warn people off “panic buying” as lockdowns were announced.

“Dobbing in” became a national pastime. Bloomfield even issued helpful tips to report someone for breaking self-isolation. Small groups of cyclists, friends yakking over the fence, frisbee-playing flatmates; they all became targets.

In one nine-hour period overnight on a Thursday five years ago police received 396 calls relating to Covid-19, from members of the public. Of those, the vast majority, 279, were calling to report concerns about people breaching stay-at-home rules.

The most high profile rule breaker, of course, was then-health minister David Clark who was forced to resign after twice breaching the Government’s own directives, first by going mountain biking, and a second time when he took his family for a beach trip 23km from his Dunedin home.

The pandemic years were, for some, a time of opportunity — to pick up a new hobby (sourdough raising, anyone?), DIY, or even a puppy; for others they were existentially bleak.

Yet while we might like to remember the care packages for sick friends and workmates, the teddy bear in the window craze and the backyard marathon challenges, evidence has found the less joyful social consequences are likely to be with us for some time.

For some, it was never the same again

Yes, we learned to embrace working from home, online shopping and staying in, but the social aftermath also showed up in issues with mental health (loneliness and anxiety), an uptick in family violence, and poor child wellbeing and development.

The position of those already struggling was brought into sharp relief. Those hit hardest were also the most disadvantaged and vulnerable before the pandemic, and included Māori, Pacific communities and the elderly.

Community support organisations reported a new group of people entering hardship—those who had never previously needed a food parcel or financial assistance from the Government.

That group continues to be impacted. The Salvation Army’s recent State of the Nation report highlights increasing numbers of Kiwis needing welfare support — more than 400,000 people were on some form of benefit in December last year.

Conversely, those most-affected communities were also among the groups who stepped up with effective hyper-local responses, mobilising at grassroots levels to help support vaccine roll-outs and protect iwi.

In fact, the royal commission found Māori community-based responses were able to engage with local people faster and more directly than government agencies, leading to marae now being used as central hub points in times of crisis, as witnessed across the east coast following Cyclone Gabrielle.

Not disputed is the fact the pandemic, like the Christchurch earthquakes, is expected to have a lasting impact on a generation of children and younger people.

In the UK the British Academy was tasked with producing an independent review on the long-term societal impacts of Covid-19. It pointed to nine significant areas of impact which could play out over the next few years, ranging from the rising importance of local communities, to exacerbated inequalities and a renewed awareness of education and skills in an uncertain economic climate.

Back home academics have honed in on the loss of social cohesion—the glue that holds a society together— warning the schisms occurring now and highlighted in the anger and frustration expressed during the parliamentary process, are likely just the beginning of further polarisation.

Counting the costs

Many businesses - particularly tourism and hospitality - have struggled in the aftermath.

Nowhere is that more obvious than in the Capital, where a number of overtly successful eateries have closed, the city’s Golden Mile retail strip sports numerous “For Lease” signs, and house values have fallen off the cliff.

The Government pumped huge amounts into its Covid response and recovery fund, including more than $5 billion in wage subsidies, an additional welfare payment providing up to $490 a week for those who lost their jobs, and a $3 billion package of infrastructure investments aimed at creating more than 20,000 jobs.

As the royal commission report put it, that economic response met its immediate aims and along with other policy responses achieved better social and economic outcomes than most other comparable countries.

But inevitably big spending over an extended period left its mark: the level of government debt increased and inflation was constrained through elevated interest rates.

The cost of living soared, house prices went nuts, and mortgage interest rates crept up.

Tourism, one of New Zealand’s biggest selling points, has limped to recovery, with international tourism expenditure only now returning to levels similar to pre-Covid.

As would be expected, there were some big hikes in the number of unemployed as the pandemic wore on. The unemployment rate rose from 4.0% to 5.3% in the September 2020 quarter, the biggest quarterly increase on record, while the number of business closures outnumbered new firms for the first time since 2012.

Unemployment is currently sitting at 5.1%, the highest since those 2020 figures. The last quarter experienced the largest annual fall in employment since the year to December 2009 quarter, with 32,000 fewer employed people over the past year.

That’s a sign, according to Finance Minister Nicola Willis, of the 'human cost of lingering effects of economic mismanagement by the previous government' during the Covid years.

Again, it’s young Kiwis bearing the brunt—the unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 19 hit 23%, the highest in more than a decade.

Changing the face of business

E-commerce on the other hand, was one of the few sectors to do well out of Covid, although commentators suggest the medium term benefits would likely have been dwarfed by the consequences of inflation and debt.

The rise of online everything, however, has also had an effect on bricks and mortar businesses, adding to the impact of the working from home phenomenon that Covid kicked off.

HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham, who previously described New Zealand as having a 'rock star economy', got some hackles up last month by suggesting our economy had suffered the biggest hit in the world in 2024, driven by interest rate increases in response to post-pandemic inflation.

He pointed to the extreme initial measures — putting the economy into a deep freeze — as being of the moment, while also noting international factors played their part.

The worldwide consequence of large scale fiscal and monetary stimulus, as well as other supply shocks like the war in Ukraine, presented in a sharp pick-up in inflation, while New Zealand’s continued weak productivityresulted in falling GDP and rising unemployment. .

What now?

As to lessons learned and where to next commentators suggest that while economic behaviour and the economic environment changed in many ways, the change the economy needed to make has been delayed, something we are now seeing in the long-tail effects of the pandemic.

With inflation now back at target and the Reserve Bank cutting rates to stimulate growth, an upswing in growth is expected this year.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s recent “grow baby grow” state of the nation speech hammered home that his focus would be on economic growth — his growth engines would be “turbo charged” and the world and its money would be invited in.

Meanwhile ASB’s economic team has some positive takeaways for the ordinary Kiwi, noting this week that during the peak of the pandemic, households were facing annual increases of more than $100 per week in living costs. In 2024 this slowed to an extra $30 per week and this year, fingers crossed, it will shrink to less than an extra $10 per week.

That said, in a joint submission to phase two of the Covid inquiry two of the country’s big hitters, Business NZ and the Employers and Manufacturers Association, have fired a warning shot over the impacts of the pandemic, saying the severity shouldn’t be underestimated.

While acknowledging the benefits of hindsight they say elevated inflation was the inevitable result of major fiscal and monetary expansion at a time of significant supply side disruptions.Tackling that had a depressive effect on the economy which is still being felt today.

Rules around what businesses could and couldn’t operate in lockdown were arbitrary and hammered small businesses unnecessarily while personal restrictions and reduced school attendances were likely to result in a less skilled workforce and “impact the labour market for years to come”.

Finally, how’s your health?

Who could have predicted that five years later, the country would still be weathering the impact of the virus on access to surgery and New Zealanders would still be dying almost every day with, and from, the virus.

Some still reckon with the effects of Covid on their body. Some still wear masks. Māori, Pasifika and disabled people continue to suffer worse impacts than others from the virus. Meanwhile, the curve of Covid-19 vaccination has flattened right out.

Of course, long waits for surgery, vaccine hesitancy, health inequities and post viral syndromes existed before the pandemic - but Covid-19 dragged them into daylight faster than any media story, outspoken patient, doctors and politicians ever could have.

It tested the pace at which leaders, public servants and health workers could adapt in the interests of the safety, through adopting everything from new technology, medicines, screening infrastructure and policy changes.

As public health Professor Michael Baker wrote, on reflection, Covid remains the country’s most important infectious disease, so strategies to mitigate its impact must continue to evolve just as the virus does.

Given the elimination strategy was retired in favour of a minimisation one, the effects of both Covid and long Covid on people and the economy will likely increase over time, Baker says.

This means Covid surveillance like wastewater testing and genome sequencing should continue along with promoting repeat and regular vaccinations, masks on public transport, self isolation for the sick and improvements indoor air quality.

Of course, the public buy-in for these measures has changed dramatically. While many now consider isolating or mask-wearing when sick part of their social responsibility, others see it as an infringement on their freedom.

Turning the tide would require sustained leadership - something the health sector hasn’t enjoyed in recent times.

As we have complex conversations over the level of investment we are willing to make in our country’s health, it might pay to reflect on what’s at stake, as the ‘devil’ virus is here to stay.

Those were the days

2020

February 3 -Entry restrictions on foreign nationals from mainland China. Those who can enter the country must self-isolate for 14 days.

Feb 21 - First New Zealand Covid-19 case is retrospectively identified

Feb 28 - First Covid-19 case announced and contact tracing begins for positive cases

March 11 - WHO declares Covid-19 a pandemic

March 19 - New Zealand’s border is closed to all except returning New Zealand citizens

March 25 - New Zealand goes into Alert Level 4 lockdown

March 29 - NZ’s first Covid-19 related death

April 9 - All international arrivals are required to undertake managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ)

April 27 - Strict lockdown ends, New Zealand enters Alert Level 3

May 14 - $50 billion Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund is announced

May 26 - A vaccine strategy announced, and a Covid-19 Vaccine Taskforce is established

August 12 - PM calls for calm as hundreds queue outside supermarkets in a panic-buying frenzy

August 19 - Businesses and workplaces are required to display NZ Covid Tracer QR code posters

August 30 - Masks made mandatory for people aged 12 and over on public transport and aircraft at Alert Level 2 and above

November 11 - Minister for Covid-19 Response portfolio is created

2021

February 19 - First Covid-19 vaccine arrives in New Zealand

March 26 - Vaccination rollout begins for frontline health workers

April 30 - Vaccine mandate for all border and MIQ workers introduced

July 27 - Vaccination rollout begins for general population

August 17 - First case of Delta in the community

August 18 - New Zealand goes into lock-down

September 1 - Auckland and Northland remain in Alert Level 4 lockdown, rest of the country goes to Alert Level 3

September 22 - Auckland moves to Alert Level 3

November 14 - MIQ is reduced to 7 days followed by home isolation for arrivals into New Zealand

December 20 - 90% vaccination of eligible New Zealanders achieved

2022

February 8 - Parliament grounds anti-vaccination/mandate occupation begins. Protesters initially numbered about 100, but that grew to around 3,000 over the next few weeks.

March 2 - Occupation ends. Police made 65 arrests for a range of offences including trespass, wilful damage and possession of restricted weapons. At least three officers were injured

April 4 - Vaccination requirements removed for most businesses and venues

July 27 - Final MIQ facilities closed

July 31 - All NZ borders became fully open

August 12 - First cruise ship in over two years enters New Zealand

September 17 - All Government-issued vaccine mandates ended

* Julie Jacobson was a government press secretary for two years during the Covid pandemic.