Level 2 shift welcomed
Famously chatty, New Plymouth butcher Tony Varga is counting down to Thursday when he can finally catch up with his loyal customers.
Varga will join thousands of retailers across the country when he reopens as New Zealand begins a staggered drop to coronavirus alert level 2.
‘‘I’m really excited. I can’t wait,’’ said Varga, owner of TLC Meats in New Plymouth’s Richmond Centre.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that from 11.59pm tomorrow almost all cinemas, retail, playgrounds and gyms can reopen with physical distancing and strict hygiene measures. Travel will also resume.
Schools will reopen on Monday, and bars from Thursday, May 21, using the "three S" requirements of seated, separated, and single service.
The move to level 2 cannot come soon enough for Varga.
Contactless deliveries kept him afloat during level 4 – but then the country dropped to level
3 and people’s obsession with takeaway food returned and orders dropped.
‘‘Everyone’s gone back to work and they’re not cooking as much as they were,’’ he said.
As a result of lockdown, Varga’s turnover has been down
95 per cent and he’s been dipping into his personal savings to get his eight staff paid.
News of the shift to level 2 has restored Varga’s hopes – providing people support local, he said.
‘‘We’ll reopen, hopefully Covid will be gone, and we’ll start to tick away again.’’
Fashion retailer Brett Stokell echoed Varga’s thirst to get back to ‘‘business as usual’’.
Guize clothing store in the Centre City mall in New Plymouth has been closed since the start of level 4.
Stokell said he was thrilled to be about to reopen.
In the process of creating a website before the pandemic hit, Stokell ‘‘missed the boat’’ with online sales during lockdown, he said.
‘‘We definitely need to get back and reopen – and we’re not alone.’’
But how retail would fare following the coronavirus blow to the country’s economy would be a wait and see, he said.
Stokell believed Taranaki would bounce back faster than other provinces, and he was confident his large customer base of 32 years would help see his business return to ‘‘normality’’.
‘‘There was nothing we could have done to have prevented this – it was outside our control.
‘‘We just have to roll with it and look forward.’’
Before Allan Ross can reopen his three New Plymouth gyms he first has to gather the equipment he loaned to members during lockdown, and service the machines.
Being closed for seven weeks has been tough for Ross, owner of Rampage Fitness.
‘‘Everything stopped the day we closed the doors, as far as income etcetera from the members. But the bills keep pouring in.
‘‘It’s the same for all businesses. It’s been tough, but we’ll get back on our feet. We’ve been going for 12 years. We’re not going to back out now.’’
Ross looked forward to seeing his members back in the gyms and reckoned he might even see a few new faces.
‘‘I think there’s been a bit of comfort eating and comfort drinking going on during lockdown,’’ he laughed.