For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this … Read more
Living with a differently-wired brain is challenging at the best of times – never mind in the midst of a global pandemic. Erin Kavanagh–Hall chats with six neurodivergent New Zealanders who share the obstacles they’ve overcome during the Covid-19 lockdown. ‘I was terrified of being stuck inside’ Cate, 31, Wellington Diagnosis: Autism As a person … Read more
‘I feel like it means something to be a New Zealander in these circumstances, that it means something that we’re all trapped here together, self-isolating at the end of the world.’ On the third Saturday of the lockdown we saw the naked bus driver. We were standing by the road chatting to our neighbour, observing … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia worked with Chris to create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members, with support from the Science Media Centre. These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this … Read more
In the third in our new video series 60 Seconds with Siouxsie, Dr Wiles explains why Donald Trump’s latest suggestion is bonkers. In this video, made possible by the support of Spinoff members, Siouxsie Wiles says the American president’s idea that disinfectant might be able to rid people’s bodies of Covid-19 is wrong and dangerous. … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia worked with Chris to create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members, with support from the Science Media Centre. These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. … Read more
The Salvation Army has issued its second Covid-19 monitoring report, urging the government to take action. A month ago, The Salvation Army began monitoring the effects of Covid-19 on vulnerable New Zealanders. Today, the organisation has come to the conclusion that an emerging “Covid-19 underclass” needs urgent and radical government intervention to prevent further distress. … Read more
For a month now, we’ve been asked to stay at home to stop the spread of Covid-19. New data visualisations now show how well we’re following that instruction. The Science Media Centre has funded data visualisations showing when and where we’ve travelled over the past month. Geographer Chris McDowall has made videos following population movements … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this … Read more
New Zealand is pursuing an ‘elimination’ strategy to counter the coronavirus pandemic. But that word, as with many terms in science, is not necessarily the same as its common usage. Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, our plan is to eliminate Covid-19. We have long since abandoned the “flatten the curve” strategy, which aims to slow … Read more
Within the rapidly changing landscape of the Covid-19 pandemic, physical distancing is fast becoming the new normal. But what does that mean for our sex lives? RNZ‘s Melody Thomas writes. Warning: Contains sexual references. This advice is not for everyone. If you’re dealing with the effects of sexual abuse and assault, here is a list of support … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia worked with Chris to create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this … Read more
A lot of people are very reasonably concerned about the implications of schools and early childhood education reopening. Siouxsie Wiles explains what the latest studies can tell us about the risks. When Aotearoa New Zealand heads to alert level three, schools and early child education centres will be opening again. They will only be available … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia helped create today’s charts. This work is made possible thanks to donations from The Spinoff Members, with support from the Science Media Centre. These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry … Read more
Cook Islands-based New Zealander Shaun Bamber is currently in Auckland quarantine, counting down the days until he can be reunited with his family. It’ll be even longer before he can return home to Rarotonga, currently the epicentre of one of the strictest border control regimes on earth. Last week I left what might just be … Read more
I can’t deny that it’s lovely to be able to go almost wherever I want. But would I want my grandmother to be here? My mum and dad? Sarah Habershon on life in a country pursuing a herd-immunity strategy. I live on the first floor of a converted water tower atop the tallest hill in … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this … Read more
Without the sounds of the day-to-day competing for attention, Scotty Stevenson has taken some time over the past four weeks to listen. I heard my father talking tonight. He’s been dead seven years. His voice was deep, filled with an understated enthusiasm, imbued with eternal encouragement, just as I remembered it. I heard it while … Read more
The latest in our series of Covid-19 charts, graphics and data visualisations. David Garcia created today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in the early afternoon, … Read more
When we look at the numbers, our brains can play tricks on us, writes Siouxsie Wiles. Did you hear about the testing of the general population in Iceland for Covid-19 that found that half of the people who tested positive didn’t have any symptoms? When I heard that, the first thing I thought was: shit, … Read more
Midwife and lecturer Billie Bradford explains the impact stress can have on pregnant women and why support for low-income families is so important right now. The Covid-19 pandemic has turned our society upside down. It’s a stressful time for everyone, and this stress and change is likely to impact pregnant women in New Zealand in … Read more
Our lives have been shaken over the past month, and not just in the obvious ways. Here are some of the smaller, stranger things that lockdown has brought up. When everyone withdrew into their bubbles almost four weeks ago, it was clear certain things would be different: our levels of social interaction, our incomes, and … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here. 7.10pm: … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here. On … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia helped create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in … Read more
The risks to mental health during times of soaring unemployment is a crisis within a crisis, writes clinical psychologist Jacqui Maguire. But there are steps you can take to come out the other side of unemployment in good mental shape. The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted every facet of our lives, including rising unemployment rates both … Read more
We can be confident the population prevalence of Covid-19 is less than 1%, but what else can we conclude, asks biostatistics professor Thomas Lumley. One of the known unknowns about the NZ coronavirus epidemic is the number of cases we have not detected. There will have been a mixture of people who didn’t get any symptoms, … Read more