Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to media during a press conference at Parliament. Photo / Getty Images
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to media during a press conference at Parliament. Photo / Getty Images
Some Tauranga businesses are said to be heading towards "breaking point" with one sector expected to take a $20 million hit as the national Covid-19 lockdown is extended.
This afternoon, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed the lockdown would last until at least 11.59pm Tuesday as it was "not safe" forany part of New Zealand to come out of level 4.
Cabinet will meet on Monday to discuss whether to reduce levels for some regions.
The announcement comes after three Delta strain cases were confirmed in Wellington, contributing to a total of 31 cases, as of this afternoon.
The Wellington cases had travelled to Auckland and visited a location of interest there.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley. Photo / NZME
For Bay businesses such as CBD retailers that rely on foot traffic, it's another blow.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said the "heartbreaking" extension made sense given the low vaccination rate ahead of the outbreak.
Cowley said CBD retailers and cafes traditionally reliant on foot traffic would be feeling the pain from lockdown the most.
He urged businesses, big and small, to not just consider the wage subsidy but also the Resurgence Support Payment which could help with fixed bills such as leases.
He said there was also frustration and confusion among some businesses about what was classified as an essential business in level 4.
He was aware of butchers operating and bottle stores doing deliveries. Greater clarity from the Government on this would be appreciated, he said.
Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt shared the concern for retail.
"Every week we're in level 4 we lose about $20 million out of retail [in Tauranga]," he said.
"In level 4, about 55 per cent of the working population can still work. That rises to about 75 to 80 per cent in level 3."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to media during a press conference at Parliament. Photo / Getty Images
"We'd be concerned for businesses that aren't able to work for extended periods of time," Tutt said.
"The impact on the economy probably won't be too much more for a few days, but it just really depends on how long it takes to come out of this."
Billy Emeny, who owns Craft Bar and Kitchen (CBK) in the heart of Tauranga's CBD said while the lockdown extension was upsetting it made sense.
"It's been a frustrating time for many businesses having to go in and out of lockdown over the past 18 months, but I would much rather do a short sharp strong lockdown now than a long and painful one going on for several months."
Fatboys Charters' owner Russ Hawkins said it was upsetting to have to "grind to a halt again", particularly when he had weekend bookings.
"We all just need to try to be positive that the lockdown doesn't go on for too much longer."
Tauranga City Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley. Photo / NZME
The Phoenix Bar owner Ralph Ward said the business would lose a week's revenue and had to throw out a lot of produce that could not be given away to staff.
"The biggest disappointment for me is the impact on our customers. We had a number of birthday celebrations being held at the bar this coming weekend. I feel really sad for those customers."
Ward said the Taste Tauranga Festival that was due to start on Saturday also had been cancelled.
Restaurant Association of New Zealand chief executive Marisa Bidois said the extension was "a blow to the industry".
"I think the hardest part, if not the lockdown itself, is the not knowing what's around the corner that is quite stressful for businesses," she said.
Tauranga City Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley has postponed a public meeting planned for Monday where the council's representation review was expected to be discussed.
She said holding the meeting over the internet may limit some people's ability to take part in it.
She hoped that by delaying the meeting by a week Tauranga could potentially be out of lockdown.
Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber says it's imperative people remain vigilant in lockdown. Photo / NZME
She said the infectiousness of the Delta variant was "a bit scary".
"People need to be sensible. People just have to have patience and follow the rules," she said.
"If you look across the ditch and see the consequences of not following the rules, we will be in lockdown for a lot longer, and our businesses are really hurting. We want to get back to some sort of normality as quickly as we can."
Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber said the latest update didn't paint the picture we were hoping for "but it is what it is".
"Our efforts from here on in are to do everything possible to contain and eliminate this Covid variant. Given the nature of this variant, it is imperative we are all vigilant."
Tauranga MP Simon Bridges says we shouldn't be here in the first place. Photo / NZME
Tauranga MP Simon Bridges, of National, said he understood the need for the lockdown to be extended "but if the vaccination rollout had been better and our rates of vaccination higher we would have had more options than this blunt tool".
"From here on, the vaccination programme needs to have much more urgency and innovation to it because we can't keep going into lockdown and at some point, as the rest of the world does, New Zealand will also need to open up.
"We should also all spare a thought for the thousands of businesses, particularly smaller ones, throughout Tauranga. Each day lockdown continues will be the breaking point for a few more of them."
"It was already very tough given skills shortages, increased shipping costs and delays and a host of other factors. For some this will be the final straw, " Bridges said.
Ardern said the country was in a reasonable position but it was still early days.
"This isn't a time to be complacent."
The Government was still waiting on a record number of tests to be returned.
As of 2pm, 2363 people had been identified as contacts of the outbreak. This number excludes the central Auckland Church of Christ and Avondale College contacts.
More than 24,000 community tests were performed across the city, with more than 8000 at community testing centres and around 16,000 at general practice and urgent care clinics.
