Whangārei businesses say Northlanders using Covid Tracer app less

Shiraz Restaurant owner Jas Singh, QR code use. 13 November 2020 Northern Advocate photograph by Michael Cunningham

As the virus rears its head in Auckland again, local businesses claim Northlanders are growing ever more complacent about signing in – although data from the app makes this hard to quantify.

Jas Singh, owner of Shiraz Indian Restaurants in Whangārei, Kamo and Dargaville, estimates a 20% decrease of people scanning into his restaurants.
He said Northlanders may have a false sense of security about being at level one.

"Because we didn't have it as bad as some of the others, people are taking it a bit easy."
Despite this, he said the majority of people signed in when encouraged by him or his staff. "You just get one or two a week who ask why they should do that."
"We just say it's safer for everyone if you do it, and most people do."

The level of QR code compliance across New Zealand was highlighted late last week by the emergence of a fresh Covid case in central Auckland.

At a media conference on Friday, Minister of Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins called on the country to keep on scanning. "I urge everybody to be vigilant in scanning the QR code," he said.
"The more we scan, the safer we'll be," added Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay.
Steve Smith, chief executive of the Northland Chamber of Commerce, has also noticed the drop in compliance in Northland.
"My observation would be that previously, people were 99 per cent compliant – now I'd say it's more like 50-50," he said.
He put it down to the Covid-19 pandemic not being top of mind, with no recent local cases.
"It's human nature," he said. "And this is not a natural situation."

The Ministry of Health has reported a drop in mean daily scan-ins since September across the country, but they do not give information on the specific regions.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Health said this was because the app does not require any personal information other than an email.

"The difficulty is a lot of people don't put in what region they live in," they said.
The Ministry of Health said of those who did choose to enter their address, more than 6 per cent were from Northland - 4 per cent of the country's population, suggesting Northlanders are more likely to give this information than Kiwis from the other regions.

The national data shows a meteoric rise in scan-ins after community transmission sent the country back up a level in August.
This peaked with 1,676,896 mean daily scan-ins in September.

Minister of Covid-19 Response, Chris Hipkins is encouraging everyone to use the Covid Tracer app. Photo / File

October and November have so far have seen a drop to less than half that number.
John Maurice, chairman of the Northland branch of the Hospitality Association, sees the most recent cases in Auckland as a good opportunity for businesses in Northland to double down on following the rules.

"People are becoming a little more blasé," he said. "But what happened in Auckland yesterday is a telling reminder that we need to follow the protocols."
Lina Cruz, manager of Himalayan Trading Post in Whangarei, also noticed the decline.
"People are feeling more secure," she said. "When the danger was here in Whangarei more people were doing it."
Cruz feels more connected to the ongoing dangers of the pandemic as she is in touch with family back in her native Colombia.
"Things are terrible overseas - but we live in this bubble and we aren't in touch with that," she said.
"So we're fine and our world hasn't really changed."
Clint Thoms at Wards Music has noticed a generational divide when it comes to signing in.
"It's the old ones that do it," he said. "It can be a bit of a laugh watching them try to figure it out on their phones."
He thinks young people are more likely to oppose the idea of scanning in. "It's often the young ones with the conspiracy theories in their heads saying 'Oh no, they're tracking my phone!' Back when we had the sign-in book, instead of their name some of the young guys would write down things like Lynyrd Skynyrd."
Suwen Gao, assistant manager of Amazin' Gifts in the Strand, worries encouraging people to sign in may put retail and hospitality workers in a difficult position.

"The business is already quiet, and if you say too much you might lose more business," she said. "I don't want to push."
Steve Smith of the Chamber of Commerce praised businesses who encourage customers to comply but says they have no obligation to do so.
"If you take the extra step, that's commendable," he said. "But it's not their mandate."
Smith stressed businesses need to tread carefully if they ask customers to sign in.
"They need to be a bit subtle," he said. "Emotions will be higher this year over Christmas and the last thing anyone wants is someone getting a smack in the chops."
A Ministry of Health spokesperson urged all businesses to encourage customers to scan in, as this will speed up contact tracing procedures.
"Not only does this keep staff and customers safe," they said. "It also helps ensure businesses can stay open and minimises the disruption to our economy."

However, Jas Singh thought communication from the ministry could be improved.
"They could be more clear – if somebody doesn't scan, what do we do? Should we tell the ministry? What if that person is the carrier?"
He said the move down the levels had made the role of restaurants murkier.
"Originally, when it was compulsory, we were able to ask people to do it. Now we can't."

He expects the level of compliance will increase after the news of last week's new case in Auckland.
"Yesterday with that news, I think you'll have a lot more people scanning – I hope."