Gastro outbreak: Health fears keep customers away

Wright & Co cafe director Liv Reynolds partakes of safe, bottled water while at work. Photo / Warren Buckland

Cafes and restaurants are also feeling the effects of the gastro bug with tables and chairs sitting empty.

Pedestrians were sparse on the village streets yesterday and the usually bustling cafes had only a few who were brave enough to leave the house.

Hundreds are still house-bound, suffering from aches, pains, vomiting and diarrhoea caused by water contaminated by E. coli.

The outbreak has been linked to an underground bore which tested positive for the bacteria.

Residents were alerted on Friday to begin boiling water for a minute before drinking or to buy bottled water from the store.

[The] impact's been huge - we're at least 50 to 60 per cent down today.

Liv Reynolds ,Wright & Co. director

Wright & Co. director Liv Reynolds said at 12.30pm yesterday the cafe was devoid of the usual rush-hour lunch service.

"[The] impact's been huge we're at least 50 to 60 per cent down today," she said, "not only with staff but with customers, too".

As a cafe director, she said she had struggled to find much communication about the contaminated water and had relied on social media for updates and information about the situation.

"It would've been nice to have had some sort of contact with [the council]."

She said they were taking all necessary steps to ensure good health of staff and customers.

"The water is completely off." They had a water dispenser in the cafe and small bottles of hand sanitiser dotted around the counter for customers to help themselves - a common site during these past few days in the village.

She said the cafe had remained open because if it chose to close they would not be covered by any insurance.

It is only if authorities forced the cafe to close that it would be covered by insurance.

Jackson's Bakery and Cafe assistant Courtney Lange said Mondays were generally quiet in the village regardless of the gastro bug.

But she did say they had sold fewer cups of coffee.

"Everyone is just trying to stay away from anything that might include contaminated water."

She said an authority came into the cafe to check on how things were on Saturday morning and then again yesterday morning .

Havelock North Business Association president Sam Jackman said he visited cafes on Saturday to see how they were going. He said he talked to them about safety measures they needed to take, including temperatures of coffee machines and what dish-washers they use.

Mr Jackman said businesses were being responsible and most were displaying notices informing public of correct safety measures.