Bay of Plenty Times Year in Review: March 2020

An empty Hewletts Rd on day one of lockdown in Tauranga. Photo / File

The Bay of Plenty Times is looking back at the stories of 2020. This is what made headlines in March.

March 2:

Tauranga's property hotspots have been revealed in a new report showing where house prices were heating up.

The latest OneRoof property report showed property prices were rising in Gate Pā, Judea, Hairini, Tauranga South and Maungatapu.

March 4:

Four Mount Maunganui homes that each sold for more than $1 million have made CoreLogic's list of top five Tauranga properties that gained the most resale profit.

The company's latest Pain and Gain report showed a home at 241b Oceanbeach Rd made the biggest gain of $2.8m. The home was bought in 1997 for $721,000 and sold last year for $3.6m.

Four Mount homes made CoreLogic's latest Pain and Gain report. Photo / George Novak

March 7:

"I have already lost a child to cystic fibrosis ... the thought of losing another one is unbearable."

Those are the words of Tauranga mother Lavinia Twose in a letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, desperately seeking help to fund a $500,000-a-year drug to keep her 19-year-old son Izaeah alive.

Lavinia Twose son Izaeah has cystic fibrosis and the family is trying to raise funds for drugs to improve his quality of life. Photo / File

March 16:

Tauranga residents are "all in this together" when it comes to keeping coronavirus out of the city, says mayor Tenby Powell.

Powell, along with neighbouring mayor Garry Webber and leaders in the Bay's tourism and business sectors, believe the Government has made the right decision in introducing more travel restrictions.

March 22:

A Tauranga man in his 30s who recently returned from the United States is the city's first positive Covid-19 case.

He is among the 14 new confirmed cases announced today, bringing the total number in New Zealand now to 66, the Ministry of Health said.

March 27:

Tauranga's streets were empty as the city hunkered down on the first day of lockdown.

The usual rush hour traffic was no longer, shops were quiet and beaches were bare. The only people on the streets were police, security, and the odd person out for exercise.

March 28:

Signs are urgently being made to remind parents that playgrounds remain off-limits during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Tauranga mayor and chairman of the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Tenby Powell said he had been made aware of multiple reports of parents taking their children to playgrounds, despite the city's playgrounds being closed as part of Covid-19 restrictions.

Mount Maunganui Mauao base track closed. Photo / File

March 28:

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 everyone in the community, the majority strangers, can access everything they need while New Zealand is in lockdown.

Mainfreight Tauranga truck driver Greg Camenzind has sacrificed seeing his family to continue providing for his community. Photo / Andrew Warner