What exactly is ‘essential’?

Doggy daycare, a cup of joe, or new whiteware may not seem essential under the lockdown but there are exceptions.

A range of businesses were grappling with the government rules, trying to find out whether they were an essential service before the coronavirus lockdown.

Auckland-based doggy daycare providers Pets In The City believed they were an essential service under the animal health and welfare category and were to remain open.

Owner Greg Main said that though they had scaled back most of their services, there were pets that needed to be taken care of under the lockdown. He said they were continuing to look after pets of owners who could not get back in the country, pets whose owners were carrying out essential frontline services and pets of sick people. While they are waiting on clarification, they had been advised to ‘‘self-assess’’.

‘‘Our assessment is that we are an essential service as we are an entity whose closure would jeopardise the maintenance of animal health or welfare standards.’’ Whatever happened, there was no way they would ever abandon any pets.

The retail meat industry was also seeking urgent clarification regarding the status of independent butcher stores. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) updated its definitions yesterday afternoon saying: ‘‘Butchers, bakeries and similar small-scale food retailers are considered non-essential’’.

Retail Meat NZ spokesman Kit Arkwright said their members had issues around delivering meat to rest homes, halal meat preparation and what to do with store product.

Cafes, restaurants and bars have known for a few days they have to close but there was the odd exception. Mojo cafe at Wellington Hospital is to remain open. A Mojo Coffee spokesman said that because the cafe was a supplier to the district health board, the cafe and its staff were considered essential services.

Maintaining utilities within homes was another essential service the Government had to consider. MBIE deputy chief executive Paul Stocks said they were trying to put a system in place where people in urgent need could buy essential household items such as whiteware, as most household goods stores were not classified as essential.

After initially saying hardware stores such as Bunnings, Placemakers and Mitre 10 would close, the Government said yesterday that as the supply chain for building and construction, they could stay open to trade customers for essential purposes only.

Food delivery was prohibited, except for meals-on-wheels and whole food delivery such as subscription boxes like My Food Bag.

And Stocks said yesterday afternoon that firewood was considered a fuel. ‘‘Obviously, keeping warm and safe during winter is essential and if the fuel for that is wood, then we would consider that to be an essential service.’’