Coping with Covid

What’s Changed & How Are We Coping With Covid-19?

It’s been over 3 weeks now since New Zealand moved into level 4 lockdown in response to the worldwide Covid-19 outbreak.

So much changed for NZ in a short window of time.The rest of the world is feeling it too.

Looking back, have to say that I was a bit stunned by the swiftness of all the changes – Friday I was working, Monday they announced upcoming level changes and Thursday 26th March, level 4’s lockdown status came into play!

It didn’t seem like much notice – from Monday’s business as usual, to school closure on Tuesday, and then ‘find your bubble’ by Thursday.

Plans flew into place and my Dad, who had been visiting us from up north, set off home and we shifted suburbs. Basically, in the space of a day, my kids went to school and came home, not to return until further notice.

Our school’s teachers had mere hours of notice about a shutdown and coped so well with that, even sending home books for learning and additional supportive resources.

They had already done a bit of training in using Microsoft Teams, which they solidified on Wednesday and began rolling with on Thursday as lockdown set in.

Since my husband supports IT for his school and we live in a house bus, we were able to move our location before lockdown came into effect, in order to access stable wired internet so he could support all the online learning needs for his school during quarantine.

I’m glad we’re mobile at times like this, as our whole life was already set up and we more or less collected our chocks and drove somewhere else. We have little to consider overall, are on a small budget and were already in a tight space so didn’t face much adjustment in those ways.

A Shift To Online Learning

Microsoft Teams for my kids’ distance learning was new to me, however, so after settling in to our new locale, that was our first routine to set up.

The first few days were a bit crazy for everyone! Learning the platform, getting the hang of logging in, being ‘in class’ on time, knowing where to find lesson videos or worksheets and completing and handing in work, all without ‘regular’ teacher guidance – and that was just me!

Overall though, I think Teams has worked really well for their online learning – aside from the distraction of the chat feature for kids which was enabled to start with!

I’ve also wondered how teachers keep track of rolls and assessment checklists, as all work is being submitted using photos, which must be a challenge for them since they have to gather files for so many different students – especially the secondary teachers. 

Since lockdown day, daily Covid-19 cases have fluctuated in NZ but the trend of total number of confirmed cases is heading down now and we’ve flattened the curve during this time, making the lockdown hard but worth it in my opinion.

Thank you to all our essential workers!

Jacinda Ardern, NZ’s PM, has encouraged and praised public adherence to the restrictions in NZ so far and today announced that we’ll likely see restrictions easing, with a first possible move towards level 3 again in the weeks ahead as we look to exit this period of total quarantine.

But while Covid-19 researchers in New Zealand are optimistic that the level four restrictions could be lifted in at least some regions fairly soon, they warn that New Zealanders should prepare themselves to do things differently for up to 18 months and that our our level four days are highly unlikely to be completely over.

What have our struggles and wins looked like?

We’ve all responded differently to different aspects of quarantine probably because of our personalities and coping strategies.

Here’s a comparison of our approaches so far:

I wonder what life will look like after Covid-19 and if it’ll be different to life as we knew it? And if so, how?

I worry that hygiene and social distancing practices will have become a habit and will affect the way we care for others after all of this. I hope not.

In the end I have no control over several decisions related to quarantine and our nation’s response to it and the world so I have decided to control what I can: my attitude. I’m going to remain positive about how things will pan out and ensure my responses to any changes are helpful to those around me. 

What Might Life Look Like For New Zealand Post-Lockdown?

Ardern has covered what life in NZ might look like for us after lockdown – face to face interactions are off the cards initially but additional transport services, policing and takeaway options may open up for use again soon.

We’ll probably see changes to the way on-site education works, with rolling lunchtimes meaning all children face reduced mixing.

Teachers are also expecting to have to use hand sanitiser on entry and exit to schools and their classrooms. They may also try to apply physical distancing practices through new seating and room use arrangements in attempts to reduce infection chances.

When conditions or levels change, it seems to help if governmental decisions are made and announced as early as possible to allow people to adjust their expectations and reduce potential feelings of disappointment and anger that may naturally occur.

The four-week lockdown officially ends next Wednesday night, 22nd April at 11.59pm, but the Government won’t announce whether we move down a level until next week.

Either way, it’s likely that aggressive contact-tracing and testing, to weed out new cases, will continue and if new clusters flare-up, level four could be brought back in as a back-up.

Meanwhile, the spread of Covid-19 overseas means that long after New Zealand is able to lift restrictions on everyday life, our border will likely remain closed and may be one of our longest-lasting controls alongside ongoing testing, tracing, and isolation strategies.

Hopefully, visiting friends and family within New Zealand and returning to work and school won’t be as far away as that though and many of us will be able to get back to our jobs and have some social life again.

How have you found the transition to quarantine measures where you are?

What have you worried or wondered about?

Feel free to share your comments below.

Please click on one of the images below and pin it to Pinterest.

Thanks!

Meagan