While most of us are on lockdown, at home with loved ones, some of Tauranga's essential workers won't get to see theirs for at least four weeks. They've chosen to self-isolate away from children and partners and are putting their own health on the line every day to make sure
Covid 19 coronavirus: Unsung heroes of Tauranga's lockdown
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Tauranga truck driver Greg Camenzind is one of those working through the lockdown and his dedication to the job has come at a cost.
"I had to make a hard choice. I have a 2-year-old I had to say goodbye to for four weeks. I don't want to put them at risk, I can understand the rules, but because I'm out among it I've isolated myself," he said.
"It's a very eerie feeling, very eerie out on the roads anyway. I was in Hamilton ... and noticed 95 per cent of the vehicles on the road were trucks. It's a bit strange but it is good people are following the rules and on the other side of it, it makes for good driving, less chaos on the roads.
For supermarkets and petrol stations to continue operating, they need goods to sell. That's where truck drivers come in.
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"We're doing a lot of farming product, it seems even the farmers are panic buying because that's pretty much triple what I'd normally pick up. I've noticed at places we go, customers are pretty strict. Everything is in lockdown and hopefully, we get through this soon."
Health workers hope so, too.
Dr Tony Farrell from Mount Medical Centre says he is "likely to be exposed" to Covid-19 so keeping his own family safe is something he's often thinking about.
"I"m pretty sure a few of us have lost some sleep," he said.
Ahead of the lockdown, his team worked tirelessly to create changes to their business to ensure the safety of their patients was paramount while also delivering them the best care.
He said staff had been brilliant but it was the personal worries added into the mix which made it harder to sleep.
"I'm probably more likely to be exposed, so I have to think about how I can isolate at home. But how can I keep away from the rest of my family, it's just kinda got real.
"It's eerie. Most health care workers in the front line are fairly worried."
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Patients were not allowed inside the building unless it had been cleared by staff.
"Our patients have been very helpful and supportive of the change and so I feel the initial part has gone quite well but I'm fearful still of what is to come.
"When I go to work, my social bubble contacts others' social bubbles so we may even zone the medical centre for social distancing so that I only go to certain rooms, and transition to paperless.
"But if we do what we are told, I believe we will be able to get through it."
Fifth Avenue Family Practice nurse practitioner Julia Perry said her own children were worried for her safety but she was dedicated to bringing the best service she could to those that still needed it during the pandemic.
"A lot of our patients still have accidents and emergencies that are not related to coronavirus but they still need to come in and see us for. Like wound dressings or flu vaccines, even medication," Perry said.
"Even though there is a pandemic we don't want to miss the general screening that we would be doing.
"There are people that are out there who are still needing chemotherapy so we are trying to give those people advice too."
The nurses have turned into councillors in some respect, spending a lot of time answering calls from concerned members of the public, she said.
"There are people whose carers aren't able to come in anymore so they don't know where they will get their food from."
Most patients had been with the practice for years and years, so she believed it was reassuring for patients to talk to someone they knew - and nurses were more than happy to help.
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But on top of that stress, each nurse has their own family to care for and because of that, the week had been emotional.
"Everybody has a family and none of us wants to bring any infection home to our own families.
"I know there are some of our staff who have sent their kids away to live with another family for a month."
Police throughout Bay of Plenty are still in action, enforcing the usual laws as well as ensuring people are sticking to the alert level four rules.
Rotorua police acting area commander Inspector Phil Taikato said he and his team were proud to be able to serve the community in what is "a challenging time".
"I and all of my staff are most definitely happy to be doing this, this is what we signed up for, this is our business. This is what gets us out of bed every morning.
"We try to go about our business as usual, albeit the nature of what we're doing has changed because of the demand.
He said the behaviour of the community since the lockdown began had been most pleasing.
"So far, I'm comfortable with the processes we have in place and I'm quite comfortable with the compliance levels of our community.
"There have still been some individuals pleading ignorance and flouting the boundaries but they've been easily dealt with, but that hasn't happened to the extent we expected, we've been pleasantly surprised."
Working hard throughout the pandemic, and to keep the city fed is the Tauranga Foodbank.
About 17,000 people sought help from the Foodbank last year.
Manager Nicki Goodwin said they were feeding hundreds of people a day, and she anticipated that number to increase.
"What is going to change is who we help.
"The government plan to help beneficiaries should actually take the load off for that sector because there will be more money for food, but we expect to see a lot more new faces, or voices in this case."
At the start of the week, Goodwin said they were hit with people panicked about how they would feed their families and a level of anxiety about how to ensure her own safety.
But she said everything was now in place to keep the Foodbank running with the best hygiene practices - even limiting the number of volunteers to stop cross-contamination.
"We are still going to be able to get food to people.
"We have also set up a system to deliver food if people can absolutely not get here and we have also cut back on our open hours for customers which are from 10am to 12pm."
Goodwin said no food donations would be accepted at this time but monetary donations would be highly appreciated.
Since the lockdown, all food was being isolated for three days before it was handed out and there was no more fresh produce available.
Fresh Choice Tauranga, in Ōmokoroa Rd, is allowed to stay open to ensure the local community has all it needs.
Owner Steve Ling said it would take everyone some time to adjust to "a new way of thinking" but things had run smoothly so far.
"A supermarket is a key point in the community and certainly at times like this it is the only social outing that people have. Particularly in older communities, it's really important to help keep the community glued together as much as they can be in the current situation.
"We're just trying to do everything we can to help the vulnerable groups."
He said there were a lot of systems in place to protect the customers and his team.
"The customers are really grateful. I guess the frustration for us and our team is that more people aren't taking it seriously across the board. We want to do all we can for the community while keeping everyone as safe as possible."
Leaders throughout the Western Bay of Plenty said essential workers were vital to the communities.
Tauranga's mayor Tenby Powell said it was "critical that these businesses and organisations deemed essential services are looked after in the same way that we are looking after ourselves".
"They can't be in a bubble but one would hope that those conditions in which they are working are being carefully managed."
Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber said essential staff out in the communities were going "above and beyond to make sure all of us get through each day".
"As we work our way through however long it will take to shrug off this pandemic, let's acknowledge that those amazing people will have the odd hiccup as they go about supporting us and its at those times let's be really thankful that they are doing their level best to keep us all safe and well."
Rotorua expectant mother Elke Semple said she was thankful to still have the support of her midwife in spite of the pandemic.
She said midwives, along with doctors and nurses, were "unsung heroes" who were just quietly getting on with the job.
"All the mums and mums-to-be are forever grateful that they continue to do their job in the middle of all this craziness," Semple said. "Thank you."
Security guards are also out and about helping to keep businesses and streets safe.
Brett Wilson from Watchdog Security says in Rotorua they are working with the Rotorua Lakes Council, police and Civil Defence and have increased patrols in the city.
• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website
