New Zealanders are still reporting negative impacts on mental health and income from the coronavirus pandemic, despite living in one of the world's few countries to have largely returned to normal, according to Reuters.

The Pacific island nation, which has had only about 2,200 cases and 26 deaths in a population of five million, enforced strict lockdowns and social distancing rules that helped to virtually eliminate the virus.

But it's now undergoing what economists call a 'K-shaped' recovery in which wealth inequalities are widening, compounded by surging property prices and a housing shortage.

The survey, released to Reuters, shows 46 per cent of New Zealanders said they or a household member had trouble sleeping because of the spread of Covid-19, higher than the 43pc recorded by the survey in June-July last year. About 40pc continue to say they feel depressed.