Have you magpied some sanny for iso?

Kiwis are now in iso, hanging out in their bubble, making sure we flatten the curve, break the chain and stop the rona.

Words and phrases no-one had heard of a few weeks ago have now become common as. And, as New Zealanders are in the habit of doing, the new words are being shortened.

So, self-isolation has become iso for some, you can call coronavirus ‘‘the rona’’, and some of us have borrowed from our Australian friends in referring to hand sanitiser as sanny.

The Aussies were quick off the mark with some Covid-19 slang – no surprises there. Magpie, for example, is a person who hoards stuff from the supermarket.

Urban Dictionary coined the word Covidiot for all those clowns out there who refuse to self-isolate, brawl over toilet paper or ignore lockdown rules. Because, as they said, stupidity is contagious.

Because the number of Covid-19 cases is increasing, New Zealand went into alert level 4 at 11.59pm on Wednesday. Three weeks ago who knew alert levels were even a thing?

But now we all know alert level 4 means the country is in lockdown and people should not interact with people outside their bubble, the word now meaning the small group of people you are in iso with.

Community transmission has nothing to do with your TV or internet connection, just like contactless delivery does not mean the delivery person has lost their contact lenses.

You would hope if people are contact tracing face to face they are wearing their PPE (personal protection equipment).