Health & Bodies

What life looks like at each of the Covid alert levels

New Zealand will move to alert level 3 at 11.59pm on Monday April 27. We’ve broken down what each alert level means, along with illustrations by…

Global snapshots of Covid-19

While New Zealand is in lockdown and America erupts into protest, other countries are coming to grips with Covid-19 in different ways. Here is a selection…

How to self-isolate inside your own home when you live with others

When lockdown comes to an end, people who have Covid symptoms will still need to self-isolate. So how do you self-isolate at home to stop it…

Some Kiwis love being in lockdown

We asked New Zealanders how they are coping with lockdown and if they can bear it being extended.

On Monday April 20 New Zealanders will find out…

People in their 20s have Covid-19 the most, but it’s not because we’re irresponsible

Despite popular belief, experts say it isn’t because young people are rebelling against lockdown more than others. There’s actually a pretty simple explanation. 

Sophie’s phone lit up…

Covid-19 Live Updates: day 22 of lockdown

Check in here for the key, verified facts on how New Zealand is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.  

2pm, Thursday 16 April - Day 22 of lockdown

Here…

People genuinely think 5G is linked to Covid-19

We asked someone why they think 5G is linked to Covid-19. Then we asked a health expert if he agreed. Spoiler: he really didn’t.

In the midst…

Vulnerable families are struggling to eat during lockdown

The level four lockdown has been disruptive for every single New Zealander, and we’ve all had to make changes to how we would normally eat and…

Covid-19 Live Updates: New Zealand experiences its second death

Check in here for the key, verified facts on how New Zealand is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. We update this several times a day.1:00pm, Friday…

Covid-19 Live Updates: Day 11 of Lockdown

If you're looking for just the key, verified facts, check in here for rolling live updates.1:00pm, Sunday 5 April

Today there are 89 new cases, and no…

A sex therapist’s advice on the importance of touch during isolation

Over the past few months, the world has become intimately aware of the impact of our touch. We have started to see our own hands as…

How to handle your sexual health in lockdown

Many sexual health services aren’t open during lockdown. What do you do if you need to get a refill of the pill, an IUD removal, and…

Covid-19 Live Updates: Day 7 of Lockdown

We're now a week into our nationwide lockdown. If you're looking for just the key, verified facts, check in here for rolling live updates.This live updates…

How are New Zealanders going to get high during lockdown?

With lockdown now in full effect, drug stock is drying up around the country. We spoke to three New Zealanders to find out how they’re getting…

Five tips to shop normally at this abnormal time

It can be hard not to over-buy at the supermarket at the moment. Lines to get in the door can be half an hour long, and…

Covid-19 Live Updates: Our First Weekend in Lockdown

It's the first weekend of our 4-week nationwide lockdown. If you're looking for just the key, verified facts, check in here for rolling live updates. 

1:00pm Sunday,…

Supermarket workers tell us about being on the front line of Covid-19

Supermarket workers are risking their health to keep us fed. Re: asked three workers how they’re coping and what they need from us to help them…

Opinion: Otago University fucked up with Covid-19

Doing the bare minimum until the last second is fine for assignments, but not for pandemic responses, argues Erin Gourley in this opinion piece originally published…

Stranded backpackers struggle to get home from New Zealand

After her fourth ticket back to the United Kingdom had been cancelled, Lara Suleyman from Kent made a plea on social media for the British government…

What it’s like to travel across the country hours before lockdown

Over the weekend Re: journalist Baz Macdonald needed to travel home to Invercargill for his grandma’s funeral. Back in the distant past of three days ago,…

How can we predict the spread of Covid-19?

On Monday 23 March, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said without Level 4 measures, medical modelling showed Covid-19 would kill tens of thousands of New Zealanders. Genevieve…

We spoke to uni students scrambling to get home before lockdown

People are flooding to ferries and planes to get across the Cook Strait before lockdown. Students say tickets to the North Island sold out in minutes…

Covid-19 Live Updates: 24-25 March

As we approach our 4-week nationwide lockdown period, starting at 11:59pm tonight, the government releases more information on what that period will look like. If you're…

Missing out as others buy groceries to feed 10 million

As New Zealand escalates its response to Covid-19, panic-buying at supermarkets continues to cause problems. Last week, Countdown reported it sold enough food to feed 10…

Covid-19 Live Updates: NZ will go into 4-week lockdown (Monday 23 March)

Right now, there's a flurry of information - some true and some false. If you're getting a bit fatigued and just want the key, verified facts,…

Covid-19 Live Updates: 21-22 March

Right now, there's a flurry of information - some true and some false. If you're getting a bit fatigued and just want the key, verified facts,…

5 ways to keep your social life going from a distance

The Ministry of Health’s Director General Dr Ashley Bloomfield said he’s no longer using the term “social distancing” and instead using “physical distancing”. That’s because in…

Here’s what you need to know about the COVID-19 support package

Today the government announced a financial support package to help our economy, health sector and workers get through coronavirus. Here’s what you need to know.

It’s a…

Women in New Zealand are getting HIV, but aren’t getting tested

HIV doesn’t discriminate, but the way it’s tested can. The stereotype that associates the virus with gay men means New Zealand women aren’t taken seriously when…

How to stop being afraid of the word 'fat'

Ema Tavola first learnt about BMI when she was at school. “We went around the class. Everyone got weighed, and then we looked at everyone on…