A Covid testing station in Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell.
A Covid testing station in Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell.
Wellington is officially free of Covid-19 after the last remaining cases linked to the Defence Force cluster recovered on Tuesday.
The region was on alert last month after two people who later tested positive for the virus dined at Wellington Malaysian restaurant Little Penang on the Terrace.
Restaurant owner TeePhee said the scare had been a "wake-up call" for everyone, and highlighted the need for clearer Ministry guidelines for restaurants.
"We used to have resistance when we get customers to check in, now they're not resistant," she said.
"Now my staff goes around and says 'do you need this?' with the QR code and people are more receptive now.
"They used to be a little bit like 'oh we don't need that, we don't want that'."
Following the news that two positive cases of coronavirus had dined at their restaurant on November 12, Phee said they deep-cleaned the restaurant and tested all staff at both their shops.
She said they had not been directed by the Ministry of Health to take these steps.
"A lot of things we did on our own initiative but we have a very good close relationship with the restaurant association, they have been by our side the whole time.
"We weren't even told to do deep cleaning by the ministry, we did it on our own because we know it is necessary."
It had made them realise the need for clear guidelines from the Ministry of Health and enforcement to make sure they were being followed.
It was up to restaurants themselves to maintain Covid safe protocols, she said.
"You have to rely on the integrity of the operators to make sure they do it right.
It was up to restaurants to ensure their own Covid-safe protocols. Photo / 123rf
"The ministry itself should have their own contractors so everybody follows a standard procedure and they're under the watchful eyes of the ministry and not individuals.
"If it's done by the contractors of the ministry, they have to take the responsibility, and the public can take a lot of comfort that a neutral party has stepped in to do that."
Phee said the most important lesson they had learned through the incident was about open communication.
"First and foremost with the authorities and secondly with your customers and thirdly with your staff. And also with the public in general.
"At the end of the day there's nothing to hide, it's nothing you would wish on anybody, but it is what it is and you just have to take that positive step."
