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
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
It’s the perfect time to write your own locked-room murder mystery – easy, right? Read more from the lockdown letters here. How do I feel? Sick of vacuuming that’s for sure. Sick of ignoring the voice that says, “you can’t see the dust anyway so why bother?” Since I went into self-isolation I’ve been teaching my … Read more
Some criticisms of the National Party leader have been way over the top, but there’s no doubt he badly misjudged the nation’s mood on Monday, writes Ben Thomas. Among the many distant memories of life before lockdown is the belief that the National Party’s superior social media game would sink the government in 2020. Designed … 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
Answering hundreds of calls a day from anxious KiwiSaver investors, Kiwi Wealth’s head of customer services Matt Beach paints a picture of how some New Zealanders are handling the Covid-19 downturn. For essential services everywhere, from supermarkets to gas stations to toilet paper manufacturers, the overriding message of the lockdown has always been the same: … Read more
Morgan Godfery reveals some straightforward reflections while completing domestic chores, such as, well, socialism or barbarism? Read more from the lockdown letters here. I spent the last four weeks taking my darkest, densest books off the shelf, skirting around their edges, reading and re-reading their back covers. Should I open it from the front? Do I … 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
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
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
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
In the second in our new video series 60 Seconds with Siouxsie, Dr Wiles has a message for anyone who has tested negative for the coronavirus: you’re not off the hook yet. In this video, made possible by the support of Spinoff members, Siouxsie Wiles explains why testing negative for Covid-19 doesn’t make you immune … Read more
On Tuesday April 28, New Zealand moves out of alert level four and to level three, giving the green light for many workplaces to reopen. What does a business have to do to open? The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has released its guidance around workplace activities and obligations under the various levels. MBIE … Read more
The prime minister has announced the lockdown status will come to an end in a week, with alert level three to remain in force for at least two weeks. Read Jacinda Ardern’s speech in full here New Zealand will exit alert level four in a week, at 11.59pm on Monday April 27, Jacinda Ardern has … 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 greatest leaders from history have made sacrifices in times of need. A look at who, now, is doing that for us. Read more from the lockdown letters here. I’ve been talking to my sister. We don’t ring or email often. She lives in Victoria, in the country with half a dozen superannuated horses, a … Read more
Cabinet meets at 10.30am tomorrow to determine if and when New Zealand will move out of alert level four. This afternoon Jacinda Ardern outlined the criteria for that decision. This is what she said. Read more about announcements at today’s media briefing here As I have no doubt everybody in New Zealand is acutely aware, … Read more
The country has been asked to prepare for a shift back to alert level three, which will entail the reopening of schools and early childhood education centres. Educators are worried lack of clarity around the reopening of schools could risk student and teacher safety. On Thursday, Jacinda Ardern laid out guidelines for a relaxation of … Read more
The Covid-19 crisis has propelled the field of public health to the foreground. A few simple public health concepts could help keep us on track as we near one month in level four, writes Louise Thornley. Public health is suddenly part of everyday conversation. Many of us have become addicted to the daily Covid-19 update, … 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. 7.00pm: … Read more
A move to level three will see a wave of businesses crank back to life, and the pressure on courier operations will surge further. Once a week, maybe twice if I’m lucky, a courier driver knocks on my front door. It’s an exciting sound, those three quick taps, and I immediately leap up from my … 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
Fresh data shows most New Zealanders are staying at home, while activity in some regions has plummeted by 100%. Jacinda Ardern warned that week three would be the hardest period of level four lockdown, and more people would be tempted to leave their homes as the country reached the final stretch. According to Google’s latest … Read more
For all its petitions and protests, the left is too invested in its own privilege to upend ‘hypercapitalism’, Thomas Piketty argues in his latest book Capital and Ideology – so it’s time to conjure something new. It is a very long book. I started it some time in late December when the electoral defeat of … Read more
As we await a decision on moving out of alert level four, some big questions are in play. One of those is about contact tracing, explains Siouxsie Wiles. Illustrations and animations by Toby Morris. This work is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Help us to continue this work by joining here. On Monday, the … Read more
Ātea editor Leonie Hayden is one of the lucky ones, she says, so why does it feel like there’s a weight inside her chest? Yesterday was my first happy day in lockdown. I made fresh pasta. I folded washing and watched Moana. Am I the only one who hasn’t caught up on their washing? Two … Read more