Zizi Sparks: Long weekends a reminder of how lucky we are

The NZ Covid Tracer app has more than 2.5 million registered users. Photo / File

OPINION

This past long weekend the roads were teeming with people.

With Auckland Anniversary last weekend and Waitangi this weekend, families are trying to make the most of the last of the school holidays and travelling domestically.

It's not a new phenomenon. We saw it all last year once lockdown lifted. Kiwis are heeding the call to travel domestically and support local businesses.

But the last two weeks should serve as a reminder of just how lucky we are to be able to do so.

Kiwis were on edge recently with the announcement of the Northland case and subsequent Auckland cases. It briefly caused concerns for long weekend plans.

But the concern was short-lived and based on how busy the roads were on Saturday and Sunday, plans weren't abandoned.

It's all good news for domestic tourism as travellers buy food, experiences, accommodation and more in tourist places like the Bay of Plenty.

Tauranga business owners told NZME long weekends were "huge" for business and "critical". Rotorua business owners said the city was "pumping" and accommodation bookings in the city were "looking strong" last weekend.

Waitangi weekend looks set to bring the same joy.

While I was stuck working on Sunday and Monday, I made the most of Saturday and drove to Auckland to catch up with family.

I didn't visit a lot of places but I was careful to sign in using the Covid-19 tracer app everywhere I went. It's an improvement on my usual app usage track record and I need to constantly remind myself to keep up the good work.

The NZ Covid Tracer app now has more than 2.5 million registered users.

According to figures published on the Ministry of Health website, between 1pm on January 24, when reports of the Northland case emerged, and 1pm on January 25, there were 816,133.

It was a huge jump on the 520,729 in the 24 hours before that.

The number of scans continued to climb to 1.27 million in the 24 hours to 1pm on Saturday.

But that is still more than one million off the 2.4 million scans on a day in September last year.

We can't let this new drive to scan QR codes ease off. New Zealand is privileged to be in the situation it is in and hard work got us there. But complacency could put us back at square one.

So this weekend, this week, and all the days after that enjoy yourself, see the country but use the app.

We don't know how lucky we are.