Focus: How to stop the spread of coronavirus. Video / AP / Mark Mitchell
Bay of Plenty people are spending more time at their workplaces and supermarkets than most other Kiwis in lockdown, Google Maps data shows.
Google data collected via people's devices, anonymously, mapped how busy certain locations have been before and after the New Zealand alert level 4 response to Covid-19.
Inthe Bay of Plenty, activity at workplaces reduced 52 per cent - less than the national reduction of 59 per cent, and 57 per cent in Waikato.
Movements at grocery and pharmacy stores reduced by 51 per cent in the Bay, less than the 54 per cent reduction nationally and 55 per cent fall in Waikato. Movements at parks reduced 86 per cent in the Bay compared to 78 per cent nationally, and 84 per cent in Waikato.
However, the Bay recorded a 22 per cent increase at residential locations compared to the same figure nationally and 23 per cent in the Waikato.
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For Te Puke mother Shelley Sayers, who is isolating with her 13-year-old son, the Covid-19 measures had "thrown" their routine but they were "adapting".
Sayers' son is enjoying sleeping in and she was enjoying getting "heaps of stuff done around the house".
In her opinion, the lockdown will teach New Zealanders how much they took things for granted.
Tauranga retirement village resident Liz said it was hard not seeing her granddaughter like usual.
"We did something together (sewing, cooking, sightseeing) most weeks."
Liz lives in central Tauranga in a retirement village apartment. Photo / Supplied
The 77-year-old, who did not want her surname used, said she tried shopping for groceries online but found it hard to get a pick-up time. She now sent her list to her son instead.
"I am not enjoying having to stick to nearby streets for walks. I much prefer to walk on beaches or in parks where there are birds and small things to watch. I miss not going out for meals with friends," she said.
"One positive is the internet. I had been Skyping ... I am learning how to do Zoom, which is interesting. I keep track of a large number of nieces, nephews and personal friends on Facebook."
Cindy Foster, who lives in Mount Maunganui with her husband, told the Bay of Plenty Times "not much has changed for us other than staying safe at home".
She is in her late 50s and is semi-retired, her husband is retired and is 75.
Cindy Foster lives in the Mount Maunganui area with her husband. Photo / Supplied
Foster said she hoped and expected others would also stay home to "get it over with".
"We go for our walk and get jobs done around the house. It's a feeling of peace not having to rush around to this and that ... I'm taking this time as a holiday to slow down."
Rotorua mother Renee Mackie's household said her children had been flexible around the lockdown.
"They love going for car rides even if it's to the supermarket to sit in the car ... Since being stuck in lockdown they haven't asked to leave the house, they haven't spoken of being bored."
Mackie said the lockdown had made it harder for her financially and in some ways "being locked up - it feels like a punishment, home detention without bracelets".
Rotorua shoppers during Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown. Photo / Andrew Warner
However, she said her family members had learned a lot about each other.
"We have developed more respect for each other. We used to all be busy ... but now I feel like we as a family are more connected and it's taken this Covid-19 to pull us together."
Jessica Pickering's Rotorua bubble includes her husband, her daughter who is an essential services worker and two grandchildren.
She said she felt lucky living in Lynmore, close to the Redwoods and being able to walk her dog easily.
"My mother is in a retirement home in complete lockdown. Buying her groceries has been an elongated process," she said.
"In regards to our social life, it hasn't changed much apart from cooking at home all the time ... Technology has been an enormous help with keeping communication with friends and family. Our contact with them all has increased. I guess we're all realising what is important."
The Google report was based on March 29, the fourth day of lockdown. It compared data from that Sunday with the average Sunday between January 3 and February 6.
