default-output-block.skip-main
National | News

Newlywed couple in New York say US Govt is doing a "horrible job"

Newlywed couple Elizabeth and Kellen Bush, living in the US, are considering moving back to Aotearoa after their experience in one the country’s epi-centres of COVID-19.

The couple are social media influencers and v-logers who decided to move to New York in March.

They say the government in the United States is doing a “horrible” job with dealing with the pandemic.

“Just to compare it to what we hear back home and how they’re dealing with it, New Zealand is leading the way.”

Elizabeth and Kellen also say they have “little faith” in the government.

“It seems like a lot of people do and also why they don’t listen to the government regulations as well, so it’s a double negative, unfortunately,” says Elizabeth.

Almost all of the community domestic transmission of the virus in the US came out of New York. This has affected Kellen because he works as a photographer.

“I had a job lined up and it was a wedding I was supposed to shoot but I had to pull out because I had an injury a day before. But the person that covered said everyone at the wedding was wearing a mask. So that was a bit weird for a wedding, for everyone to be wearing masks,” says Kellen.

Kellen’s injury was a torn ACL he experienced playing basketball.

“I managed to get my knee assessed by a surgeon and he said to me, ‘You should have surgery right now this week because if you don’t you won’t be able to have surgery until after this whole pandemic is over’. And so he rushed me in to get surgery like two or three days later. After that they shut down hospitals to open up for more room for COVID-19 patients.”

Elizabeth and Kellen say their parents have felt “very uneasy” about them being in New York.

“Not only because of Coronavirus but also because of Kel’s injury and just the US healthcare system in general. It’s just extremely bad,” says Elizabeth.

Another problem there is the rats. Kellen says that since shops are closed, there’s no trash on the street, so now rats are coming out into areas where you wouldn’t normally see them.

“And at different times of the day, and they’re pretty aggressive as well. So we’re seeing a lot more of them in our back yard and out front so everyone’s getting a little on edge.”

To help with the situation, Elizabeth says they put bleach on their rubbish bins outside.

“Or even putting bags of rubbish on the fence.”

Elizabeth and Kellen originally planned to stay in New York for six months to then move to another state. But lately, they’ve been looking at the idea of moving to New Zealand.

“This whole situation has made us revaluate what we want for our future, our future family and the best place to do that.”

Kellen says if they move to New Zealand, living up North would be the place for them to go because that's where his whānau is.

The couple says they will continue to wear masks and social distance themselves from others to stay safe.