Simon Tattersfield, 49, Auckland
Owner of firm installing ICU beds, ventilators
Every night Simon Tattersfield’s wife leaves a plate with his dinner on the top of the stairs of their home where his quarantine zone begins.
He still lives in the same Westmere house as his wife Karyn and their two children Ruby, 12, and Daniel, 10.
But they no longer see him in person. He has the bottom floor. They have the top.
Tattersfield is the owner of Auckland medical supply company Insite Logistics, who deliver and service the sophisticated machinery all hospitals need to operate: ICU beds, respirators, MRI and ultrasound machines.
The 49-year-old is surprised by how emotional he gets describing his strange new home situation.
“It’s not until now that I realised how emotional I feel about it all,” he said. “My wife’s being positive but she’s a lot more anxious. She’s doing everything in her power and she’s quarantined me.
“I’ve actually got this man cave made up which is quite sweet in some ways, or whatever you want to call it. I’ve got TV and beer fridge.
“I wave to them [his kids] and talk to them from a distance, we facetime each other within our house, we have to.
“I can’t expect to put my staff out there and sit back. I’ve got to lead by example and show them that it can be done as we manage the risk appropriately.”
He was in Wellington Hospital this week, working on one of their machines, catching a commercial flight where he was the only person on the plane or in the airport. His risk of exposure to Covid-19 is ever-present.
“We’re working and off-loading near the hazardous waste,” he says. “Obviously they’ve got Covid-19 bins designated for that stuff. You see the guys who are walking past with them.
“The vibe is becoming more anxious from everyone’s perspective. Everyone’s on tenterhooks a bit more and high alert, right through to security to the orderlies and the vibe around the place is pretty focused.”