There are 20 new coronavirus cases in New Zealand as PM Jacinda Ardern reveals all Government ministers and public sector chief executives will take a 20 per cent pay cut.
No one wants businesses to fail.
We need them to survive outside of this current unconventional reality we are existing through so people can have an income and so our economy can strengthen.
But right now, businesses are struggling under the Covid-19 lockdown regulations. While some have adapted their servicesto hang on to some form of demand others cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, and that's a scary reality to face.
This week it was revealed that unemployment rates could jump to 26 per cent after the Covid-19 pandemic. This was the worst-case scenario if the lockdown was extended without extra financial support from the Government. A 13.5 per cent unemployment rate was the best-case scenario if the lockdown was lifted after four weeks.
That indeed makes for a grim future but Bay of Plenty's business leaders believe if people can return to work sooner the impact would be less dire, with calls urging the immediate staged reopening of small businesses to save thousands of jobs.
But isn't that expected anyway? Haven't we been seeing the introduction of this already?
Over the past few weeks, we've seen businesses that weren't allowed to operate at the start of the lockdown now offer essential items and deliveries online. The regulations around the goods and services allowed to trade have slowly changed, allowing people in lockdown to continue to spend, allowing businesses offering essential services or items with an online presence to continue trade.
I couldn't buy a fitness watch at the start of lockdown, but know I could last week.
Those changes have happened through a level four Covid-19 alert, so doesn't it make sense that restrictions continue to slowly ease?
And while we'd love to see businesses thrive as they did before we shut down, we can not be rushed into making permanent decisions provoked by temporary emotions.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the Bay of Plenty District Health Boards rose by three yesterday - but in the Lakes, it dropped by one.
Shouldn't people's safety trump everything else?
A brash decision to lift a lockdown or not could have irreversible consequences to both sides. For life to exist as it did before this Covid-19 lockdown, both need each other.
But no matter what, we need to trust our health experts and leave our safety in their hands.
