Relief, excitement, hope with level 1
A mixture of relief, excitement and hope greeted the news Christchurch’s hospitality businesses had been waiting for.
But for others there was frustration at the news that not all central city workers will be back just yet.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a Covid-free New Zealand will move to alert level 1, at 11.59pm yesterday. This means social distancing measures and restrictions on mass gatherings disappear, although strict border controls remain in force, as does contact tracing.
For Josh Peat, general manager of Bangalore Polo Club and Amazonita on The Terrace, level 1 means tripling the clientele, and hopefully tripling the amount of money coming in on any given night. ‘‘It’s something I’ve been looking forward to.’’
Peat sat with the business owners and had shots of rum to celebrate moving out of level 2.
‘‘It’s been hugely detrimental to our business, Covid has pretty much f…ed us, we’re fortunate that we have a really great customer base that’s come out and shown a lot of support.’’
Meanwhile, Jess Shanks, venue manager at Blue Smoke at The Tannery, greeted the news with ‘‘hope and excitement’’ that music venues could function again.
‘‘We will be able to continue into the future because every week that goes by is another week we’ve got to try and kind of hold it all together when we’re not able to bring in any revenue.’’
The Government’s wage subsidy had been ‘‘immensely helpful,’’ getting the music venue through the past couple of months, along with support from others in the industry.
‘‘Music venues are a collective, they’re a community effort, from the musicians that come and play at them to the sound techs that
come into work on the shows and also the audiences – we’re really all in it together.’’
Annabel Turley, chair of Christchurch’s Central City Business Association and owner of Unichem pharmacy in the BNZ Centre, welcomed the move.
But she said staff working in government departments nearby had told her the bulk of employees would not be back for another week, spelling another seven days of struggle for smaller businesses who rely on them to thrive. ‘‘I am very disappointed that they are not prepared to come back as soon as level 1 was announced,’’ Turley said.
‘‘We are very excited about any businesses that are coming back in, but we are at the stage where we need them back. It is another week of waiting for us.’’
Christchurch promoter Team Event celebrated the news with the announcement of dates for summer festivals going ahead at alert level 1. The South Island Wine & Food Festival will be held on December 5, the Great Kiwi Beer Festival on January 30, 2021 and Electric Avenue on February 21.
Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel said she was looking forward to level 1. The shift means council facilities including pools, libraries, fitness centres will go back to normal. ‘‘It’ll be great for local businesses as well. Places like Riverside Market have become real attractions in their own right,’’ Dalziel said.
Associate Professor Malcolm Campbell, of Canterbury University’s GeoHealth Laboratory, said modelling work showed there was a small possibility of undetected Covid-19 cases remaining. ‘‘As we move to looser restrictions, we will quickly find out if any undetected spread exists. Second, the chances of the arrival of a case from overseas remains something we will need to be very vigilant about,’’ he said.