New Zealand's coronavirus lockdown will be managed by a leadership team of some of the country's top officials. That team is Dr Ashley Bloomfield, Director-General of Health, Sarah Stuart-Black, Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management, Mike Bush, Commissioner of Police, and Dr Peter Crabtree.
An Auckland man fears that his wife is putting her "life in danger" by working as a checkout operator during the looming lockdown and is only receiving "danger pay" of $140.
The man, whose wife is a checkout operator for Pak'nSave, told the Herald his wife was getting$140 a week more than the $585.80 per worker the Government was offering shut-down businesses, despite "putting herself at risk", he said.
He felt "uneasy" about his wife working during the level 4 lockdown, saying she would be coming into contact with hundreds of people who could be infected.
He told the Herald the Government should consider a tax break for essential workers for "putting their lives in danger".
Antoinette Laird, head of corporate affairs for Foodstuffs NZ, told the Herald in a statement the co-operative's owners are "incredibly grateful" for the efforts of their staff.
"Our teams feel a huge sense of pride as they work hard to meet New Zealand's grocery needs at this time," she said.
"They are immensely proud, and have been working tirelessly to make sure products are moving through the supply chain, onto the supermarket shelves and into the hands of our customers.
"Both co-operatives and the owners are incredibly grateful for the extra lengths our people are going to, and looking after our people and all that entails is a key part of that."
Locally-owned stores would determine their own operating hours, with decisions to be made based on the needs of the community.
It's recommended customers check the brand website or their local store's Facebook page to stay across its trading hours.
Stores will limit the number of customers in the store at any one time.
Staff and customers will be required to maintain a 2m social distance from each other.
A number of measures are being implemented to keep staff safe during the outbreak.
Perspex protection screens would be erected at checkouts, floor decals showing a 2m gap, and customers will pack their own bags.
Customers are being encouraged to pay for their items with contactless payments such as paywave to reduce contact between customers and staff, and are asked to nominate one person from each household to be the designated shopper to minimise the number of people in stores.
Customers feeling unwell were asked to stay home and not come into the store.
People were again asked not to stockpile to ensure there was enough for everyone, to only buy what they needed and to be fair to others.
The Herald has received many messages from essential workers questioning whether they are receiving enough support. Many asked why furloughed workers were getting Government subsidies while essential workers continued in high-risk jobs for no extra pay.
A nurse at a private hospital, whose husband is a frontline worker in the public health system, asked what the Government was doing to compensate them for their efforts.
She said she supported the subsidy being offered to affected businesses but asked: "How about us?"
"Every day we are risking ourselves going to work and face the unknown and seriously just praying we don't catch the virus and take it home to our families," she told the Herald.
"What are we getting in terms of support? Nothing. We are just paid normally, no hazard pay whatsoever."
She also said that some nurses were "being harassed by their landlords to move out of their properties because of the fear that these poor nurses are contagious".
"Do we deserve this?"
Her comments echo others made earlier this week by another Kiwi nurse, who wrote on social media: "I have recently been told that colleagues of mine have been told that they can no longer live in their rental if they go to work.
"How ridiculous is that? I completely understand that it's a frightening thing but do you not think that it is frightening for us and that we are doing everything we can not to bring it home with us?" she wrote on Facebook.
The Herald has contacted the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) for comment.
