Level 1 ‘still not normal’
Businesses are welcoming the shift to level 1 – but say it shouldn’t be expected to mean a return to business as usual immediately.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the shift would return the economy to operating at 3.8 per cent below normal levels.
Restaurateur Charn Tiebtienrat, who said he routinely had to turn customers away during level 2 because of the social distancing requirements, said it was great news. ‘‘If this month’s sales are back to normal I will be happy, even though we didn’t get the next set of the wage subsidy.’’
Eatery Fork and Brewer in Wellington said it had been a tremendous struggle to meet the requirements of level 2.
Operations manager Kieran O’Malley said: ‘‘This is fantastic.
Our staff have done a great job meeting, and doing, their best to exceed the requirements of level 2 and also at level 3. But now they just want to get on and do their jobs, and look after our customers to the best of their abilities.’’
EMA head of advocacy and strategy, Alan McDonald, said the move to level 1 should give employees and employers the confidence to rebuild their businesses.
‘‘We can be rightly proud of controlling Covid-19, but now we need to see people and confidence returning to our CBDs and businesses. We need a similar nationwide response to kickstarting the economy,’’ he said.
‘‘We feel for the many employers who’ve seen their business close or have been forced to lay-off valued staff who in many cases were also friends. We also feel for the many thousands of people who have lost their jobs. It’s been an incredibly tough time and unfortunately the closures and redundancies are by no means ending with the move to level 1.
‘‘For many it is too late but now we need a national response to get people flowing back through our town centres, back to work and getting the economy moving. International uncertainty and lack of confidence in the domestic economy means we need to see measures that will help restore the confidence of business owners, investors, workers and consumers to get the dollars flowing again. We need to get the economy on a fast track to recovery.’’
McDonald said a lot of businesses were still operating at less than full capacity because their supply chains were affected or the demand for their products and services had reduced.
Foot traffic needed to be encouraged back into city centres, he said, and people needed to feel confident about socialising and spending.