Kerikeri residents stay home as Omicron spreads

Kerikeri hasn't turned into a ghost town but it's hardly bustling either. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Businesses at the epicentre of Northland's Omicron outbreak are feeling the pinch as some customers opt to stay home rather than venture into town for fear of catching the virus.

Kerikeri is far from turning into a ghost town and cars still clog the streets, but foot traffic is noticeably lighter than usual and businesses report a significant drop in customers.

The Bay of Islands town has consistently had the highest new case numbers since Omicron was first confirmed in Northland in late January.

According to health board figures Kerikeri had nine new cases yesterday compared to Whangārei's two, while on Wednesday there were 20 in Kerikeri compared to three in Whangārei. That's despite Whangārei having about seven times the population.

One place that is busy in Kerikeri is the Covid-19 testing station. At 1pm today at least 40 vehicles were queued from the entrance on Mill Lane around the block almost to the end of Sammaree Place.

As has been the case throughout the pandemic, hospitality businesses are among the hardest hit.

Feast staff, from left, Olivia Harkins, owner Tara Forsyth, Christine Eastlake, Lily Martin and Cindy Joyce say customer numbers at the Kerikeri cafe have dropped significantly during the Omicron outbreak. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Tara Forsyth, who owns Feast on Homestead Rd, said trade was 30-40 per cent down in past two weeks.

''But it feels like it's building and we'll be 50-60 per cent down in the next two weeks, judging by the queues at the testing station.''

Forsyth said some Kerikeri residents were ''definitely'' anxious, which she believed was because the town was experiencing Covid for the first time.

''But it's a mix — you've got people who are nervous, you've got the ones who say 'Stuff it, we're going to live our lives', and those who want to support local businesses but are having to self-isolate.''

Every business was hoping to dodge the bullet but many would have to close at times due to isolating staff or lost custom. She was staggering her staff and assigning them other duties such as gardening or cleaning.

Forsyth said she had enjoyed good support from locals but the pandemic had been a rollercoaster ride, with lockdowns, yo-yoing alert levels and vaccine rules which had cost her two staff members and 10-15 per cent of her regulars.

The Covid testing queue in Kerikeri yesterday stretched around the block from the entry on Mill Lane (pictured) to the end of Sammaree Place. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Vicki Douglas, director of Unichem Kerikeri Pharmacy, said it didn't feel like business as usual in the town.

''There is concern out there. It seems we're all just a couple of degrees of separation from a Covid case so we're having to monitor our staff closely.''

Staff were now using N95 masks and had a no mask, no entry policy to reduce risk to staff and customers. They had also set up a non-contact booth for people who couldn't wear a mask or were symptomatic.

''We're taking things day-by-day as we realise it won't be long before someone on our staff contracts Covid,'' Douglas said.

There are still plenty of cars in Kerikeri but foot traffic has dropped noticeably. Photo / Peter de Graaf

People spoken to by the Advocate on the streets, however, weren't letting virus worries get in their way.

A Kāeo woman who had come to Kerikeri to get her windscreen fixed said a couple of her elderly aunties were concerned about her going to Northland's Omicron hotbed.

However, she felt more relaxed after speaking to family members with the virus.

''That's put me at peace. It wasn't as bad as they'd expected.''

A 91-year-old war veteran from Waipapa, who'd come to town for a Subway lunch, said he'd been vaxxed and beyond that there was no point worrying.

''Besides, I've been through worse. I've had malaria and Tapanui flu — that put me in bed for 10 months.''

The Covid testing queue in Kerikeri yesterday stretched from Mill Lane (pictured) to the end of Sammaree Place. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Judy Hyland, co-owner of the Old Packhouse Market, said customer numbers had dropped by at least half from last year.

''There's no tourists, it's only locals, and they're not coming out. If you compare it to four years ago, when we had tourists, we're probably down by about three-quarters.''

She was not sure if the drop in customers was due to Omicron anxiety or because vaccine passes were required on market days.

Hyland planned to open up the whole market this Sunday, apart from the indoor cafe, as a retail event so no passes would be needed.

For now, Saturday markets would remain as a community event, meaning passes would still be required, but that could be dropped in about a month's time as long as case numbers didn't escalate.

Running a business now was tougher than at the start of the pandemic because the Government no longer offered a wage subsidy.

''It's never been this bad,'' Hyland said.

The brand new chairwoman of Kerikeri Business Association, Sarah Curtis, said one issue that had emerged in the past few days was how long it took to get tested.

As a close contact of a positive case she was supposed to get tested on Thursday but couldn't spare the three and a half hours it was taking. In the meantime, she was isolating and working from home.

''It's also taking longer to get results back so that's having an impact on staffing too.''

Hospitality businesses were suffering most and could no longer get financial support, Curtis said.

Case numbers also continue to appear at local schools.

As of Thursday there were three cases at Kerikeri High School; Covid has also been identified at Kerikeri Primary and Oromahoe School, 12km south on SH10.

Health Ministry advice for people who want to avoid the virus remains unchanged: Get jabbed or boosted, wear a mask when out and about, and scan in using the NZ Covid Tracer App.