More than 10K requests for support

COVID19 continues to pinch in Queenstown, and there has been no letup in those seeking aid from the local council.

The number of requests for welfare support from the QueenstownLakes District Council has exceeded 10,000, and more than $500,000 worth of food vouchers have distributed to people in need.

Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) local controller Meaghan Miller said about a quarter of requests were from New Zealanders; the rest were from migrants, most of whom had lost work in the resort when the country went into lockdown in March.

‘‘They are a huge part of our community and we have to get them through this.’’

The council was reimbursed by the Government for the food vouchers, which were worth up to $100.

It had enlisted about 100 volunteers, the majority of whom were working from home, to ensure each request was responded to within 24 hours.

Health and basic welfare needs like blankets, food and translators were all coordinated by the centre, as were things such as buses to Christchurch Airport for foreigners to board repatriation flights, and the setup of the mass random Covid19 testing site outside Pak’nSave last week.

The council had learned from the Christchurch earthquakes that donations needed to be managed very carefully and so was not yet asking the public for help with items, but expected to in the future, she said.

The emergency operations centre was convened in Alert Level 2 before lockdown and those involved were focused on logistics, operations, welfare, planning and intelligence in an emergency.

It was made up of staff from the council and other civic organisations, including Police and the regional council, most of whom had trained together for two to three years for an emergency and so were in a ‘‘really good’’ position at lockdown, she said.

The fulltime emergency management officer had left just before the virus outbreak and the council had been in the middle of recruiting a replacement.

Two days ago former Queenstown police officer Dan Andrew took over the role.

Ms Miller said the centre was also working on the resort’s recovery, which would complement welfare work, and there would be announcements on projects in the coming weeks.