Luke Kirkness: Life in the red Covid traffic light setting needs to be replaced

OPINION:

It's time to say goodbye to life at red.

I'm talking about the red traffic light setting, of course, where the country has been sitting since January 23.

That was at the start of the Omicron outbreak, a more infectious variant of Covid-19 than we had experienced before.

But New Zealand is over the peak, except for the South Island's West Coast.

There has never been a more important time to open up.

Tauranga businesses owe $88.5m under Inland Revenue's Small Business Cashflow Scheme, introduced in May 2020 to help small to medium-sized businesses struggling with revenue during the pandemic. Rotorua businesses owe $38.67m.

We've moved past Omicron's peak so it's time to do the right thing. Photo / Getty Images

Inland Revenue provided a two-year interest-free loan of $10,000 initially plus $1800 per full-time employee for up to 50 employees.

The first loan applicants will soon have to pay up or face three per cent interest in loans.

Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley says businesses that took up the loan have been most impacted by the Covid restrictions.

Most, he says, prefer to be operating normally so that they can pay back the loan instead of any extension to the interest-free period and continuing with restrictions.

Each day that we remain in red, easing restrictions becomes even more vital for struggling businesses.

The data would suggest a move isn't far away but last week Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand wasn't ready for a move to the orange traffic light setting, citing many parts of the country were still facing a surge in cases.

The seven-day rolling average of new community cases is decreasing but there has been a sting in the tail.

After a spike in Covid-related deaths a few weeks ago, the seven-day rolling average is starting to fall. On Thursday it was 17 and yesterday it was 14.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern arrives for a post-Cabinet conference. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Earlier this year, Ardern said Covid restrictions - such as gathering limits, vaccine passes and most mandates - would ease after the peak.

The settings will be reviewed again on Thursday. Now is the time to shift to orange.

Life at orange won't solve all of the issues plaguing businesses but it will help. For example, at orange there are no limits on gatherings, both indoors and outdoors.

The Government has the power to kickstart New Zealand's business sector and no one can afford to be stalled at the intersection any longer.

New Zealand needs to put life in red in its rearview mirror.