WRITTEN BY Charlie Kinloch
I arrived in Christchurch New Zealand on March 4 to play rugby for the season. At the time COVID-19 was not an issue in the country since there were no cases.
Fast track to a month later in the future and the whole country is in a level four lockdown (only contact with your household), and there are just under 1,000 cases in the whole country. This doesn’t seem like a large number compared to Canada but New Zealand is just 268,000 km squared while just B.C. is 945,000 km squared.
New Zealand’s efforts in combating the virus have consisted of people staying in their “bubble” which is the house they’re living in and not being in anyone else’s bubble. They have also used mild law enforcement to keep people at home and not going out and doing anything that’s not essential.
The worst part of the whole situation for me is, our rugby season has been postponed. In an effort to keep myself busy and paying my rent, I landed myself a job at the local shipping docks called Lyttelton Port Company. In order to stay fit for if and when the rugby season starts, I have been running lots and have been doing some weight training with some old weights I found in the garage.
Living away from home right now is very strange as this is not just my first time living away from home, but also my first time living away from home during a global pandemic! I have been in contact with my family since it has become a pandemic and they gave me and my very worried hosts good reasons for me to stay in New Zealand. Therefore I am staying in New Zealand and will be waiting this out safely and in the nice weather. I hope everyone back home is staying safe and hope this all ends soon.
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