By RNZ
Prolonged loneliness has hit high levels in New Zealand, particularly among young people, according to a new report.
A Loneliness New Zealand charitable trust report found loneliness in youth increased from 5.8 per cent before Covid-19 struck to 20.8 per cent during the lockdown, and remains high at 17 per cent.
"It is disheartening that after lockdown, one in six of our youth feel lonely most or all of the time," the report's author Dr Spencer Scoular said.