Exhausted businesses brace for another surge in Covid
Businesses in Southland are shutting their doors and sending SOS messages to competitors as they struggle to fill shifts amid rising cases.
There’s a sense of inevitability among Southland businesses as the region braces for another Covid-19 wave that’s set to be worse than before.
Businesses are shutting temporarily, reducing hours, or sending out SOS messages to competitors as they juggle workforce shortages with staff illness.
It comes at a time southern Covid numbers are climbing again and Health New Zealand Southern is warning that at least half of the community cases in Southland and Otago are going unreported.
For many, the conversation has shifted from how to avoid catching Covid-19 to how to manage when you do.
The Invercargill Licensing Trust has temporarily shut its Homestead restaurant because of staff illness, but chief executive Chris Ramsay pointed out that Covid was only part of the equation.
General winter ills were also doing the rounds and ILT needed staff ‘‘full stop,’’ he said.
Ramsay hoped to reopen the restaurant by the weekend but said the business had to take things day by day. As one staff member recovered, another became ill.
His workforce was both physically and mentally fatigued after working in an environment where they had little control for so long, he said.
‘‘It’s remarkably challenging.’’ Fat Bastard Pies owner James Owen said 80% of his team had already contracted the virus and at one stage, he considered closing the retail store because he didn’t have enough cover.
This was worrying because the business was expanding, and he was unsure where he would find the new employees he needed to hire.
The business was also affected by knock-on effects such as delivery delays when couriers were ill, and the rising cost of ingredients.
Bonz Group managing director Oscar Rodwell said only two of the staff members in the Knight of New Zealand factory in Invercargill had been hit so far. But he was nervous that there was more to come.
His retail teams in Queenstown had been ‘‘annihilated’’ by Covid-19, and he was even working on the shop floor himself to keep things running.
During the last wave, cases peaked in Dunedin and the Queenstown-Lakes district first before affecting Southland.
‘‘I’ve had a gutsful of Covid completely. But we’ve got a small workforce, I feel for some big employers.’’
Avenal Park Funeral Home coowner Nigel Edwards said another Invercargill funeral home had put out an SOS calling for staffing help, but ‘‘everyone’s on limited staff’’.
‘‘We’re running off our feet,’’ he said.
Most of his employees had had Covid-19, and he was focusing on making sure he could keep the businesses running when someone was infected.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Health recorded 917 self-reported cases in Southland and Otago, but given wastewater testing shows about half of Southern cases are being reported, true numbers could be around 1834.
Hospitalisations are almost topping previous peak levels, with 54 people with Covid-19 in Southern hospitals: 19 are in Southland Hospital, 22 are in Dunedin and six are in Dunstan Hospital with three patients at Waitaki, three patients at Lakes Hospital and one in Gore.
The ministry reported four more deaths of people with the virus, bringing the death toll for Southern to 142.
Of the 5903 active cases in the district yesterday morning, 636 were in Invercargill, 377 were in the Southland District, 110 in Gore, 2925 in Dunedin, 841 were in Queenstown-Lakes, 211 were in Clutha, 454 were in Central Otago and 347 were in Waitaki.
More than half of the 65 aged residential care facilities in Southland and Otago are reporting cases, while 32 are dealing with staff illness.
There’s also been a rise in the demand for supported isolation accommodation and Southern Medical Officer of Health Dr Susan Jack warned that travellers visiting the Southern district would be required to self-fund their 7-day isolation period.
‘‘People who choose to travel must take responsibility for themselves and travel at their own risk,’’ she said.