New-Zealand has been in lockdown since the past Thursday (26th March 2020). New Zealand have just hit 513 cases, with the first death.
It has been a bit of a weird experience. For me, it is basically been work as usual albeit a shorter commute (10 seconds instead of 10 minutes), and the weirdness of eating, working and having leisure time in the same space.
I and many of those in my profession are very fortunate, we can at least remotely work. My wife has had a different experience. Being an ECE teacher after the lockdown came into effect the centres have shut down meaning that she cannot work. It seems this is the case all over New Zealand as workers who cannot remotely work are losing their incomes. The financial markets have been hammered in NZ like elsewhere and many companies have been severely impacted. For instance Air New Zealand and Auckland Airport who seemed invincible only months before have pretty much been brought to their knees.
The government has brought in quite generous and widespread subsidies for the next 12 weeks. Essential businesses such as supermarkets are still open But generally most businesses are shut down completely, and even online shops are closed and not delivering, except for essential services or business orders. There has also been problems with panic buying at the supermarkets, especially in the days leading up to the lockdown. My friends in Auckland have been telling me that queuing is now the norm. My city Wellington has been largely been spared this, but certain items (pasta, toilet paper, canned foods) are definitely in high demand. And hand sanitisers? I haven’t seen one in weeks.
There is a worry that the lingering effects of this will continue, whether in the form of an extended lockdown or change in consumer behaviour we don’t really know.
There are obviously a lot of people holed up in their homes right now. A lot adults and kids who have nothing to do other than go online. The internet is largely holding up at least as far as I have experienced (I had a couple of wonky slow moments with my provider Vodafone), but the news out there is that the strain is reaching the limits apparently.
I wonder, once this all ends will the perception and usage of the internet change? What will the long-term ramifications of this be on the world? Will this be like SARS, Mers, and Ebola and have a short-term impact, or will it be like the world’s experiences after the World Wars where there was a fundamental shift in thinking and behaviour throughout the world? What will the impacts be on the children who are experience this and the after-effects, and how they perceive the world and social interactions.
There are a lot of things up in the air right now, I wonder if we are witnessing the dawn of a completely new era.
Published
Originally published at http://infinityandbeyond2017.wordpress.com on March 29, 2020.
