Listener shares her COVID-19 experience from New Zealand
Annette Hill Bezuidenhout left South Africa in January 2020 to spend time with her grandson in New Zealand. She contacted us to let us know what the situation is like in the country.
The Durban native left South Africa on a parent and grandparent visa to help out with newborn Oliver. She arrived in Auckland on 23 January and then they were hit with the pandemic.
Annette commented on one of our Instagram posts, sending love and prayers to everyone back home in SA. We contacted her and she shared her lockdown experience with us.
"Our number jumped from four cases two weeks ago to 350 cases, with 1 of them being in ICU. It's our second day of the lockdown and it isn't so bad. I think it will be a lot longer than four weeks. I try and keep busy by doing the things I like which are baking and watching television," she said.
"We also have some idiots running around, but here in New Zealand, the testing is free, while back in SA people have to pay for it. Who can actually afford that?"
Annette added that "the New Zealand government are trying to continue to pay people whilst they are off. They are subsidising casual workers with $380 per week, whilst permanent workers get $580 per week. This helps the businesses, small companies, and self-employed citizens stay afloat and hopeful. These people will still have jobs to go to at the end of it. Their prime minister is very visual. Every day she is on TV with updates."
The news and radio stations in New Zealand broadcast exercises, including cardio and meditation, during these difficult times.
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