Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Zizi Sparks: Covid 19 coronavirus physical distancing boosts social life

Zizi Sparks
By Zizi Sparks
Multimedia journalist·Rotorua Daily Post·
1 Apr, 2020 09:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

There are 76 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield says. 63 have now recovered. There are 589 total cases now.

Comment

Physical isolation is not social isolation.

It seems we are getting reminded of that on a daily basis. Whether it is the Prime Minister telling us to keep an eye on neighbours, friends and colleagues, or recurring posts on social media.

And for me, it couldn't be more true.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Since the lockdown began I've already virtually caught up with more friends than I have in weeks.

On Friday night I video called my father who lives in a different city. We managed a patchy conversation before giving up on the weak connection.

On Saturday evening I had a drink with a friend living in Sydney using the Houseparty app. We played games together, drank wine and beer and caught up on this crazy world.

By Sunday morning, I was having a five-person video call spanning three time zones. I was drinking my morning coffee, two were getting ready for bed and another was off to the supermarket.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Sometime this week I'll tune into and participate in a workout my gym is live streaming.

And on my few, limited adventures outside the house, walkers and neighbours have waved at me across the street or from their driveways as if we were old friends.

Discover more

Traffic at standstill on Tauranga Harbour Bridge

26 Mar 11:34 PM

Opinion: Salvaging a shattered holiday in lockdown

28 Mar 09:00 PM

Eight Covid 19 cases in Bay of Plenty DHB

28 Mar 01:43 AM
Opinion

Bryan Gould: Lessons the pandemic can teach us

30 Mar 11:00 PM
NeedToKnow3
NeedToKnow3

The kindness of strangers has been on full display this week. From a "care mongering" group aimed at making sure people can share ideas and check on neighbours ( March 31, Rotorua Daily Post) to the "unsung heroes" profiled in Saturday's Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

Finding ways to pass the time outside of working from home is becoming harder.

But staying connected isn't.

There's never been a greater reason to check in on mum or dad, to contact the friend you've drifted away from, to keep chatting to close friends as if nothing has changed.

There's never been a greater reason to extend a helping hand, from 2m away of course.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And there are so many ways to do so there are no excuses.

So make the effort to connect because as we've heard hundreds of times, physical distancing is not social distancing.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Plague of hoons' on motorbikes tearing up Tauranga parks

13 Jul 07:03 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Making NZ top destination for international students

13 Jul 06:55 PM
Premium
Opinion

Opinion: Why Mary Meeker's latest AI insights can't be ignored

13 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Plague of hoons' on motorbikes tearing up Tauranga parks

'Plague of hoons' on motorbikes tearing up Tauranga parks

13 Jul 07:03 PM

'Off they go waving their finger in the air.'

Making NZ top destination for international students

Making NZ top destination for international students

13 Jul 06:55 PM
Premium
Opinion: Why Mary Meeker's latest AI insights can't be ignored

Opinion: Why Mary Meeker's latest AI insights can't be ignored

13 Jul 05:00 PM
Sam Ruthe breaks NZ records in LA

Sam Ruthe breaks NZ records in LA

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP