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Experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic

One pandemic, many unique experiences Kotahi te urutā, ngā wheako ahurei maha

Home Reports Experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic One pandemic, many unique experiences

Experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic

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Note: the images of people used in this report are not those of the individuals who provided public submissions to the Inquiry. Some images used are from the Inquiry’s Look back to move forward public information campaign that took place in early 2024, and were used to encourage people to share their experiences with us.

This series of five COVID-19 experiences highlights just some of the many unique situations people found themselves in during the pandemic, and the diverse insights shared with the Inquiry during the public submissions process in early 2024. Many other shorter quotes are contained within the report to help illustrate the variety of topics raised with us.

These longer examples provide a more detailed glimpse into some of the impacts of the pandemic, and the different backgrounds of those who chose to share their pandemic story. These experiences have been edited for readability, to capture the main topics raised, and to protect the privacy of individuals.

 

Rangatahi (young person) from Northland

Rangatahi (young person) from Northland

“During Covid I was Year 11. The hardest thing was education. I didn’t really know how to use technology much – and then getting back into the routine again, it was really hard. My uncle also passed away, and the restrictions on the marae were really hard. The border closing was also really hard because I had family stuck in Australia. That had an emotional impact on me.

We were lucky our family would bring us food because there wasn’t much food in the supermarket. We had six kids at home and two parents – and we could still only get the same amount of food as the families with only two kids.

I remember at first we thought it was fun and our family was together, but not after a while and going back and forth in and out of lockdowns – and Level 1 NCEA is really important. I was playing catch up for Year 12 and 13 – they didn’t think I was going to be able to graduate. My whānau supported me heaps.

It was hard because my cousins were just around the corner and we couldn’t go and see them. We would get excited just to go for a car ride. After like the third lockdown we started finding it pretty boring. There were some positives, as soon as Covid ended I really appreciated the little things more – like being able to go to the beach and play sport again. I hardly saw my teachers because they didn’t always have internet access either. It was hard education wise.

We wondered when it was going to end. It was good because we had the least amount of deaths, but it went on for a long time.”

 

65–74-year-old, Pākehā female, Hawke’s Bay

65–74-year-old, Pākehā female, Hawke’s Bay

“I am hugely admiring of the way in which our government and health officials dealt with this almost unprecedented challenge. The personal management of the crisis and the clear communication made me feel enormously safe and confident. The fact that they were willing to throw money at wage subsidies, testing and ultimately vaccination was just fantastic. The level of research that went into the choice of vaccine was also impressive.

During the first lockdown there was the most amazing mood in the  country. Everyone was kind and helpful. As time went on however, some members of society engaged with social media which was created by malign actors for their own purposes.

When we compare our Covid mortality rate with the rest of the world we have so much to be proud of. There are obviously people walking around now who in a normal influenza season would not have survived. There will have been lessons learnt but in general we could teach the world how to respond to such a challenge.

My one huge disappointment is the lack of education of the population that this is an airborne virus, which will be with us until we have legislation around air quality in public buildings. Schools and hospitals should at very least have air purifiers as standard. Additionally, there seems no education around the possible consequences in terms of repeated infections on long-term health. I am really concerned about our children. Other countries are reporting Long COVID rates at somewhere between 5–10%. These people will be invalids who will pose a huge economic and social burden. Our experience is somewhat like winning the war but losing the peace!”

 

65–74-year-old Pākehā male, Tairāwhiti

65–74-year-old Pākehā male, Tairāwhiti

“As a sheep and beef farmer, the response to the pandemic had a minimal effect on me as far as my farming was concerned, as we could continue to operate.

However, as one who chose not to be vaccinated, I was severely affected in that I could not participate in certain events and opportunities to attend social gatherings were denied. This carried a mental health issue risk for many.

My overall impression of the Covid response was that it was far too extreme. The initial goal of elimination was unrealistic. It would have necessitated completely isolating ourselves from the world. The actions taken to minimise Covid were also far too extreme. It soon became apparent that the likely death toll if no measures were taken was never likely to be 80,000. Yet fear was maintained in the general population by broadcasting daily figures of deaths. How many people realise there are daily deaths every winter from the common flu?

It was wrong to close small food businesses and force everyone to buy at the big supermarkets. Concentrating more people in one place increased the chance of spread. The small corner shops would never have more than a few people in contact with one another at any time. The consequential hardship to these small businesses was therefore inexcusable.

The mandating of the vaccine was also inexcusable and violated a person’s right to choose. This is particularly so given this was a new vaccine and there were concerns at the time, now validated but poorly publicised that the vaccine did have significant risk of harm.

It is my opinion that we should not have had a lockdown at all. People should have been informed there was a new bug in town that well may be worse than the common flu. Each person would then be free to assess their vulnerability to the disease and make their own choices about actions, just as we do with the flu now.

My overall opinion of the Covid response was that it was far more extreme than necessary causing far too much fear in the general population. There was far too much economic hardship to individuals and small businesses, and far too great an effect on the nation’s economy with a debt that has blown out of all proportion to what a more moderate response would have created.”

 

45–54-year-old Pākehā female from the United States, now living in New Zealand

45–54-year-old Pākehā female from the United States, now living in New Zealand

“We were living in the United States in March 2020 when the pandemic struck. The pivot to online education and work was quickly accompanied by a strict lockdown. As we watched people in our family and community sicken and die, we took all the American guidelines seriously. It was a time of deep anxiety, coupled by a daily death toll that rose to unthinkable numbers.

I don’t think I can properly convey the fear that was so prevalent. My partner and I are grounded, rational, and we don’t panic easily. But it was a time of tremendous fear. We lost friends and loved ones, and so did everyone we knew. And we watched our children start to withdraw at the lack of social/educational contact and descend into depression, anxiety and behavioural change. And yet we could see how different life was in Aotearoa. The government’s decision to shut the borders was working – after the brief initial lockdown, life was continuing as normal in Aotearoa.

In May 2020, we made the decision to return. Whilst my partner and children are citizens, I was not. I filed an application for permanent residency, but also needed to secure a permission to apply for a special Covid visa to enter the country. It was easy, quick, and immigration staff were competent and compassionate. When the permission came through, I wept with relief. We booked flights and MIQ spots, and with a firm departure date set, we started packing up our lives.

I have heard complaints about difficulty with flight availability and MIQ lotteries – my experience was no more difficult than booking a normal flight and hotel. There was some adjustment of dates, but nothing outside the ordinary. The process was easy to use, well-integrated between the airline and the MIQ system. Information was clear and concise, and support was available when needed.

From the moment we arrived in Aotearoa, everything changed. As I looked out the window of the MIQ hotel at Kiwis going about their daily lives, it was like watching a film of a foreign country. The freedom and the normalcy of life was in such sharp contrast to the world we had left behind.”

 

25–34-year-old, Māori/Pākehā, essential worker and new parent during the pandemic

25–34-year-old, Māori/Pākehā, essential worker and new parent during the pandemic

“I fell pregnant with my first baby shortly before the first lockdown in New Zealand (due October 2020). The first couple of months I was advised to stay home from work as I was pregnant and at the time classed as a ‘vulnerable person’ (I worked in the healthcare sector). When Level 4 was over and we moved into Level 3 I was then told by my midwife to return to work, as pregnant people were no longer classed as ‘vulnerable’ unless in the third trimester. 

I was 16 weeks pregnant. As this felt like it happened overnight, and all the scary news regarding Covid, my partner and I felt at the time it was best for my baby and I if I left my workplace and continued the rest of my pregnancy ‘locked down’ to keep us safe. Because of this I was not able to receive maternity leave. I know it was my own choice to resign, but I felt really unsafe going back to work.

Also because of lockdown I did not receive adequate prenatal care: I did not have an appointment in person with my midwife from 10–25 weeks pregnant and had to go to ultrasounds alone. This was not such a big deal, as I had what seemed to be a healthy pregnancy at that point, but regardless no issues would have been picked up in that time as I was not being seen by my midwife. As I had never been pregnant before, I was unsure what symptoms I was experiencing. When I was finally able to see my midwife in person, it was noted I had extremely high blood pressure and I found out I had pre-eclampsia.

When I had my baby, I had a very long, traumatising birth. I gave birth late at night, and after I was back in my maternity ward room my partner was made to go home as he couldn’t stay. I was left alone, unable to walk, had no food, and with a newborn baby. We were in Level 2 at the time. I had no-one check up on me during the night as they were short-staffed. I discharged myself the next day, 12 hours after giving birth, because I felt I was better off at home. Again, I know this was my choice, but it shouldn’t have been a choice I had to make. I felt I didn’t have adequate postnatal care. I agree that there should be restrictions during a pandemic, but I think important healthcare when our hospitals are not over-run should still go ahead. We don’t want people dying or becoming unwell from other illnesses while focusing on the pandemic.

I understand why restrictions were in place, but I feel it was extremely over the top for the number of cases we had in our country, especially if the region had no active cases at the time. I felt the regional lockdowns we had in 2021 were great. However, I feel we did too much, ruined our country’s economy because of the harsh restrictions and ruined people’s lives with the vaccine mandate. I am vaccinated, and wish everyone would be, but it’s just not real life and not helpful for our country. It’s sad that it will take years for us to build back from this.”

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