JONAH SMITH (18)

Former Taieri College pupil now studying at the University of Otago

I believe after immediately coming out of lockdown, we should try not to immediately satisfy all our lockdown cravings by returning to our busy active lives because this may cause virus outbreaks to have a resurgence.

This potential issue will almost certainly be taken care of by the Government slowly reducing restrictions, and so it is crucial that we continue to follow these guidelines.

Once the virus is completely under control, there is no reason why we should try to change our lifestyles too dramatically.

We should still be able to socialise and enjoy life as we did before.

However, this is not to say that small changes should not be implemented into our lives.

The future will be unpredictable, and there will inevitable be changes to most of our lives.

Almost every industry has and will continue

to suffer in the aftermath of the epidemic.

Because of this, many people will financially struggle for months and years to come as the economy recovers.

As such, we should all try to have more kindness, compassion and charity towards each other, which will help to alleviate our shared struggles.

We should also try to have greater preparedness.

We should all aim to be a little more selfsufficient, so that in future emergencies like this, there will be less stress on our services and everyone will be a little more calm and prepared.

I believe these actions would be the most appropriate response that we as individuals can take as a result of the Covid19 pandemic.

It would help us all to get through these hard times and allow us to be prepared for future disasters.