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The parallel pandemic: Covid-19 and the mental health impacts on New Zealand young people
3 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM
13 minutes to read
Our pandemic year has given Sharonika Prasad a new perspective on life. Photo / Dean Purcell
When Covid-19 came to New Zealand, and level 4 lockdown abruptly followed, Sharonika Prasad lost much more than just her day-to-day freedom. Aged 19, newly moved out of the home in which she d long carried a heavy load of responsibilities, and starting a degree in occupational therapy at Auckland University of Technology North Shore, Prasad suddenly felt robbed of the milestones she d just passed. At home I m helping my dad with running the house, paying the bills … and [paying off] his big debt. I do the cooking, cleaning, and then I was going to my mum s and doing some for her too.
How Auckland children are being affected by another lockdown Thursday, March 4, 2021 IWK Bureau
It has been a year since New Zealand s first case of Covid-19, with more than a quarter of a million Auckland school students now spending their ninth week learning from home in lockdown.
And they re not just missing out on classroom time. Sport, after school activities and playdates have also been cancelled.
So how will this impact on the mental health of our children, particularly those in Auckland?
Kate Palmer, an Auckland mum of four children, is living through their fourth lockdown in less than 12 months. You know, Neve is about to face her second birthday in lockdown. We didn t have Easter last year. They ask if we re going somewhere and we say maybe?