Local Focus: Is Tauranga ready for community spread of Covid-19?

With recent wastewater detection of Covid-19 in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui, community spread in the region has seemingly arrived.

But are Ministry of Health guidelines of social distancing, signing-in and wearing masks being followed?

Tauranga Commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said she wasn't sure.

"Unless you actually experience it in your family – you lose someone or actually see someone that's really sick – I don't think it's struck home how deadly this disease is," she said.

"I've lost a brother-in-law, I've got a daughter in the UK who's experienced Covid - an asthmatic, so she had it really badly.

"Fortunately, she didn't end up being hospitalised but it is a dreadful disease and this Delta variant is even stronger so I think most people are being sensible and getting vaccinated.

"But I don't think, as a community, we're quite ready for a major outbreak."

Retailers say most people are following health guidelines.

"From talking to retailers the majority of people are scanning, signing in, or wearing masks," Greerton Mainstreeet manager Sally Benning said.

"There is a little bit of disconcertion I suppose about mask-wearing, that some people don't put their masks on until they get in the shop.

"They're outside. so they're not wearing a mask. Then they walk towards the counter and put their mask on which is probably not ideal - it's probably got to be put on outside."

Karen Focus, owner of Tivoli Cinema in Pāpāmoa, said the entertainment and hospitality sectors relied on people doing the right thing.

"We've had one-or-two that don't and they come to the counter and say they've forgotten their masks, so we give them one," she said.

"A couple of times we've had people say 'no I'm not wearing a mask' and we just step back a bit.

"They are allowed to take their masks off in the cinema, so we just ask them to go straight in the cinema and not be around here.

"Definitely I depend on people doing the right thing.

"Non-vaccination is not on the cards for me because as a business owner I need to stay in business.

"We can't afford to have more lockdowns. The debts are still there and I need to be able to start paying them off."

Tolley said health guidelines did not hurt.

"My second vaccination I got flu-like symptoms but, other than that, a bit of a sore arm for a couple of days.

"You know you are protected and most importantly that you're part of a community that's making every effort to protect its most vulnerable."