Covid-19

One year ago: looking back at our last days before lockdown

This time last year, we were days away from entering a nationwide lockdown. One year on, we asked the Re: team and some friends to reflect…

Why Māori need to be a priority for the Covid-19 vaccine

Today the government announced who will be prioritised to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. Two million New Zealanders will get their first dose in the next four…

The first Covid-19 vaccines will be in NZ next week

NZ border workers will be first to receive the Pfizer jab.

The first Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use in NZ

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has been provisionally approved by Medsafe for use in New Zealand. 

It is the first Covid-19 vaccine to get sign off in New…

New Zealand is the best place to be during Covid, says new report

And today there are no new community cases of Covid-19.

NZ’s one-way travel bubble with the Cook Islands has opened, but we can’t go there quite yet

The Cook Islands have never had a single Covid case or death.

New Zealanders massively hoarded booze the night before lockdown

Newly released data shows Kiwis bought 195% more alcohol at liquor stores right before the March 2020 lockdown.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a huge spike in alcohol…

Only a quarter of NCEA students say they’re coping after Covid

Covid-19 caused significant disruption to schools, according to new reports released today by the Education Review Office.

Secondary students are struggling most, with only 26 percent of…

Reflect on 2020 with these haunting and beautiful photos

Rachel Mataira, 2019’s NZ Young Photographer of the Year captured a series of photographs from January to November 2020 which she says reflects the “abnormal”.

She even…

Here’s the things we Googled this year

In 2020 - stuck at home, glued to our monitors and desperate for information - what did New Zealand Google? Below are the terms from New…

Covid-19 Live Updates

The key facts you need to know about Covid-19 in Aotearoa.Monday 1 October

Auckland will move to level 1 this Wednesday at 11.59pm.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made…

I watched the Young Voters' Debate and was actually entertained

Here are seven highlights from last night's showdown.

The six-month Covid rent freeze ends today, but rents are already going up. A lot.

The six-month Covid rent freeze ends today, and some landlords are putting up rent as fast as possible. Others tried to illegally raise rents during the…

Covid-19 Live Updates: 3 new cases

The key facts you need to know about Covid-19 in Aotearoa.Sunday 23 August, 1pm

There are 3 new cases today. One is linked to the Auckland cluster…

South Auckland is sick of being singled out

Many Pasifika feel they’re being cast in a negative light, once again.

Auckland moves back into alert level 3 lockdown, rest of country moves to level 2

There are four new cases of Covid-19 in Auckland, believed to be community transmission. There is no clear link to a managed isolation facility or to…

Seven travellers tell us what it’s like to be stranded in New Zealand

For some travellers, going home wasn't an option.

Covid-19 Live Updates: two new cases

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

1:30pm Sunday 21 June

Today there are two new cases.…

Next gen Covid apps could be used to spy on us if we don't get privacy controls right

New Zealand is Covid-19 free, but the government still wants us tracking where we go and what we do on the NZ Covid Tracer app. In…

Covid-19 Live Updates: First day at level 1

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

1:00pm Tuesday 9 June - day one at alert…

People with obsessive compulsive disorder say lockdown allowed their condition to thrive.

Sam is a typical 23-year-old who works nine to five in an office job. At 14, he was diagnosed with contamination obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and has…

New Zealand’s made it to zero Covid cases, but our contact tracing apps had little to do with it

New Zealand is now Covid-19 free. 

To keep us here the government has asked us to put our trust in an out-of-sight solution. An app that’s still…

Photo gallery: the first night out in town in post-lockdown Christchurch

Last weekend New Zealanders were finally allowed to gather in groups of more than ten people. Arwen Sommer headed out to town on Friday night in…

Covid proved having no access to internet is dangerous in NZ

The internet is what made eight weeks in lockdown bearable for most of us. But for the estimated 20% of Kiwis who experience digital exclusion, not…

Some unis are bumping up grades because of Covid and students say it’s unfair

Otago and Auckland University are automatically bumping up grades across the board in response to Covid-19. But most other New Zealand universities have ruled a grade…

Covid-19 Live Updates: Sunday 24 May

Check in here for the key, verified facts on how New Zealand is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.1:00pm Sunday 24 May - day 11 at alert…

I don't understand the Budget so I got an economist to explain it to me

Last week the Government announced a $50 billion dollar budget, or as Finance Minister Grant Robertson likes to call it, “The most significant commitment by a…

New Zealanders seem to hate beneficiaries. Is there hope that Covid will change that?

Covid has meant nearly 40,000 people have accessed the jobseeker benefit, nearly half of them for the first time. One million New Zealanders have been given…

Māori and the City: stuck inside my whare with only my dumb brain for company

When Kylie Jenner said 2016 was the year of “realising things” she had no idea 2020 was about to pull up in a facemask. Ever since…

How to rebuild a more sustainable New Zealand after Covid-19

Lockdown has shown we can take bold action that would have previously been unthinkable.