Covid-19 lockdown three years on: How one Tauranga family learned and laughed in 2020

Laughter, happiness and a stronger family.

These are three things Nathan Lewis believes he got out of the first Covid-19 lockdown three years ago.

Lewis, his wife Maria and their four children were in the Philippines on holiday when they first heard news of a “flu sort of thing” coming out of China.

“We started noticing it on the news. There were people in the airport with masks on,” Lewis remembers. “But we just sort of carried on.”

Days after the Lewis family returned to Tauranga, reality hit home.

The Lewis family on holiday in the Philippines in 2020. Photo / Supplied

On March 22 three years ago, just three days after the Bay of Plenty’s first Covid-19 case was discovered in Rotorua, a returning resident tested positive for the virus in Tauranga.

The next day, an alert level system was introduced to the country and, 48 hours later on March 25, New Zealand was ordered into lockdown.

Everyone was instructed to stay at home in their “bubble” unless they were essential workers or it was for essential reasons.

Covid-19 shook the health sector and, as new information flooded in constantly, stress and anxiety about the new virus increased.

Hospitals implemented no-visitor policies and created Covid-19 wards. Movement within hospitals was controlled and non-clinical staff worked from home.

With schools closed for on-site learning, parents and teachers had to figure out how to educate kids online.

“Everyone was worried because the situation was so unknown,” Lewis said.

“I was a little bit worried. I kind of jumped into protection mode for the family.”

The Lewis family in 2023 (from left) Ethan, 15, Maizie, 6, mum Maria, Cooper, 8, dad Nathan and Maia,12. Photo / Supplied

Lewis’ “protection mode” also had the aim of keeping everyone’s spirits up.

“It started with building a makeshift Kmart in the garage for my wife,” Lewis said.

“I posted a video about it [to social media] and tagged her in it. We got some good feedback and it kind of motivated me to start making more funny videos.”

Lewis said his family had always had a “bit of comedy” going on in their household.

“But it wasn’t until the lockdown that we started making and posting videos.”

Three years on the Lewis Bunch Antics Facebook page has more than 2000 followers and the family’s social media reach has expanded to other platforms, including TikTok.

“The main goal is to create some laughter and happiness,” Lewis said. “Plus we enjoy it.”

According to Lewis, the experience of filming the family’s pranks, jokes and even rainy-day activities has helped the family become “100 per cent” stronger.

“The lockdown definitely made me a better father,” he said.

“I learned how important it is to spend time with the kids. That was one positive thing that came out of it all.”

The experience also helped everyone in his family “come out of their shells”.

“All my kids are pretty confident and I think confidence is quite a strong trait to have.

“It’s about being yourself and not dwelling on what other people think.”

Lewis hoped his family’s videos would remind anyone who watched them that, while life brings adversity, it was important to stay positive.

“It was nice when we came out of lockdown and people said they’d been making videos of their families.

“We still get recognised in public sometimes.”

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For the next year and a bit, the country would move between different restriction levels, until heading into another lockdown on August 17, 2021, for two weeks.

The Bay of Plenty managed to avoid the extended tight Alert Level 3 restrictions that mainly affected Auckland for much of the remainder of 2021.

December 2, 2021, marked the end of the alert system, and the country moved to the Covid-19 Protection Framework, also known as the traffic light system, which remained in place until September 12 last year.