Malls, cafes, bars, barbers and schools can open under alert level 2, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. Kiwis can expand their bubbles to include friends and family and travel "safely" around the country, Ardern said.
Ten-year-old Arieta Atatoa doesn't need to be reminded how tedious the long, home-bound weeks of levels four and three have been.
"The lockdown has been a bit boring," the Waikato pupil says, of New Zealand's unprecedented move to combat Covid-19.
"I can't hang out with my friends and I can't learn in online school as well, but my family has been keeping me entertained. We've done lots of themed dinners and games nights."
Atatoa is among participants in a new research project – being carried out as part of the country's largest longitudinal study – focused on how the lockdown has affected Kiwi children.
She figured kids would want to share their thoughts about their own experiences.
"I think it's pretty cool to ask kids how they have found the lockdown because kids don't usually get asked these kind of questions and don't get to have their say."
The project, part of the University of Auckland-based Growing Up In New Zealand study which follows the lives of more than 6000 children and their families, will this week see kids complete an online survey about how they've fared.
Its director, Professor Susan Morton, said hearing the voices of children was crucial.
"This is an unprecedented event and Growing Up in New Zealand is in a unique position to connect with thousands of children to learn more about their understanding of 'lockdown', the impact this experience may have had on their wellbeing, family life and education, and their resilience."
Morton said the programme already had a wealth of information providing baseline measures of the children's mental and physical wellbeing and family circumstances.
Importantly, this would allow researchers to understand any changes in children's wellbeing that could be attributable to the pandemic.
"This longitudinal information will help us to understand the immediate impact of Covid-19 and in particular, it will help us identify what has been protective and what has been more challenging for our children," she said.
"This research can then be used to support the wellbeing of children, both here and overseas, as we face what may well be a prolonged period of social isolation."
The study also offered a chance to discover how children have been connecting with friends and extended family when they could not see each other face-to-face.
"We know that these children are digital natives and that they are comfortable in the digital world, but a 'lockdown' situation takes this to a whole new level," she said.
"We want to understand how children are responding to and feeling about this new digital world."
She said researchers around the world were carrying out similar research, and it would be interesting to see how New Zealand compared.
For the Atatoa whanau, at least, the lockdown had been an odd period.
"I think this has been such a strange and challenging experience for our children and it's probably affected them in all sorts of ways – good and not so good," Arieta's dad, Robbie, said.
"I'm pleased that our family's voice will be part of something to help us understand the true impact on our children and families, and contribute to the big picture."
Results and analysis of the research will be released later this year.
• People taking part in the Growing Up in New Zealand study can contact the researchers at contact@growingup.co.nz or 0508 476 946 to update their contact details.
