Covid-19 Time Capsule

In December 2019, cases of a mysterious illness start to rise in Wuhan,  the capital of Central China’s Hubei province. By January 2020 a new type of coronavirus was identified and cases began steadily rising worldwide.

New Zealand’s first case of Covid-19 was reported on the 28 February 2020. The government began placing entry restrictions on people traveling to New Zealand from mainland China, and people entering the country had to self-isolate for 14 days.

On March 11 the World Health Organisation declared an official pandemic. Throughout March the number of cases in New Zealand began rising with significant clusters identified in the country. Dunedin's Logan Park High School was closed for 48 hours after a pupil was confirmed as the country’s 12th case of Covid-19. New Zealand’s borders officially closed to anyone who was not a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident at 11.59pm on March 19. On March 21, the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a four-level alert system to help combat Covid-19 in New Zealand. The country was then at level two, which meant the risk of community transmission was growing. People were asked to restrict non-essential travel within the country and people over 70 or with compromised immunity were asked to stay at home.

On March 23 2020 (Otago Anniversary Day) at 1:30pm the Prime Minister announced that the country would move up to Alert level 3 immediately. In 48 hours, the country would move to Alert Level 4 and the country would go into a strict 4-week lockdown. Under Alert Level Four, all non-essential businesses were closed, including bars, restaurants, libraries, gyms, cinemas and playgrounds. Schools were closed. All indoor or outdoor events of any size had to be canceled, including weddings, funerals and any other gatherings. Essential services, however, such as supermarkets, banks, GPs, service stations and pharmacies remained open. New Zealanders had to remain at home in their “bubbles” and were only allowed outside for exercise and  to procure essential goods and services in their immediate region.

On March 25 2020 at 11:59pm the entire country went into self-isolation. A State of National Emergency was declared at 12:21pm and was in force until 12.21pm on May 13 2020.

Restrictions were eased as the country moved back to Alert Level 3 at 11:59pm on April 27. This meant that businesses were able to reopen but only for online or phone purchases and contact-less delivery or click and collect. Businesses that were only accessed by their staff, and without a customer-facing function, could open under strict health and safety guidelines and physical distancing rules. People were able to expand their bubbles so they could reconnect with close family or support people living alone. Funerals and weddings could proceed but limited to 10 people. Public venues (libraries, museums, cinemas, pools, playgrounds and gyms) would remain closed.

From May 14 2020 restrictions were further loosened as the country moved to Alert Level 2. Retail shops, malls, restaurants, libraries, museums cinemas, cafés, gyms, playgrounds and other public spaces would reopen. They would all be required to have physical distancing and strict hygiene measures in place.

New Zealand moved out of Alert Level 2 at 11.59pm on 8 June. At Alert Level 1, everyone could return without restriction to work, school, sports and domestic travel, and there were no longer any restrictions on gathering numbers. Controls at the borders remained, though, for those entering New Zealand, including health screening and testing for all arrivals, and mandatory 14-day managed quarantine or isolation.

On 11th August 2020, 4 new cases of COVID-19 were detected in the New Zealand community and the country returned to alert level 3 for Auckland and alert level 2 for the rest of NZ - the first time different alert levels had been applied to different areas of the country. Auckland joined the rest of NZ at alert level 2 on 30th August, and remained at level 2 until 14th February 2021 when further cases were detected in the community. The rest of NZ had moved to level 1 during this time. For the rest of February and until the 12th March the country and Auckland shifted between alert levels as cases of COVID rose and fell, and then the whole country remained in the relative normality of level 1 until August 2021, apart from a few days at level 2 for Auckland in June.

On 17th June 2021, the whole of New Zealand were plunged again into a hard lockdown under level 4. A new variant of COVID-19, the more deadly and transmissable Delta variant, had been detected in Auckland. while the rest of the country was permitted to move to level 3 by the end of August and to level 2 by 7th September, Auckland remained in level 4 until 21st September, when they moved one step down to level 3. There they remained, joined later by Northland and parts of the Waikato, until 2nd December 2021, when the NZ Government introduced a new COVID-19 protection framework, with the replacement of alert levels by 3 coloured settings - red, yellow and green, reflecting the level of COVID-19 cases in the community and the degree of risk to the NZ health system due to the number of cases. This was a move towards New Zealanders 'living with the virus' in recognition that it could no longer be contained.

During the lockdown and subsequent alert levels the staff at Dunedin Public Libraries collected photos and other materials to document the local response to the Covid-19 crisis. This time capsule is ongoing, so please contact us if you have anything you would like to contribute.