Clearing the air on mask rules
Customers across New Zealand have been refused entry to some supermarkets for not wearing gloves and masks, even though health officials have advised people they don’t have to wear them unless they are sick.
However, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said that businesses can do this as long as its conditions of entry are made clear to customers. Kiwis have complained on several Facebook pages that they weren’t allowed in Tai Ping Asian Supermarkets because they were not wearing a mask.
They also claimed the stores did not offer free masks and gloves, which left many angered.
One concerned daughter said her father waited in line for 30 minutes at Tai Ping in Auckland’s New Lynn only to be refused entry because he had no mask. She returned the next day and was angered that there were no signs posted on store windows about the policy. However, Tai Ping has clearly stated its rules on its Facebook page, which includes people having to wear a mask or cover their mouth with clothes.
When one customer complained on its Facebook page about the stores not advertising their no-mask policy, the administrator replied they were looking at making improvements.
Tai Ping has been contacted for comment.
Customers at New World in the Auckland suburb of Remuera have also been given the option to wear gloves before stepping in their store, however on Sunday morning a staff member misunderstood the policy and thought customers had to wear gloves.
“As a part of their additional measures, New World Remuera is offering customers the choice to wear disposable latex-free gloves and hand sanitiser on entry to the store,” Antoinette Laird, Foodstuffs’ head of corporate affairs said.
“This offer of gloves and sanitiser for customers has always been optional at New World Remuera, however, there was a misunderstanding on Sunday morning.”
An MBIE spokesperson said if a business is considered an essential business, it must operate in a way that minimises the risk of Covid-19 transmission.
“A number of essential businesses have put measures in place to limit the spread of Covid19, and to keep staff and their customers safe.
“A business that has conditions of entry must make those conditions clear to customers.”
One economist says we need an adult in the room. Another says we should forget about helping business and just focus on health. But really, how are we going to survive this? Here are five big things that have to go our way.
1. Better health measures
We are not yet doing enough to suppress the virus. Professor Sir David Skegg told Parliament’s Epidemic Response Committee this week the lockdown gives us valuable time to get it right. But, he warned, “every day counts”.
If we don’t upscale our response on the health front, he said, shutdowns will paralyse society for a year or 18 months. What do we need?
Stricter PPE rules. Import and production of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been ramped up, but the latest from the Minister of Health, David Clark, is only that PPE will be made available to all frontline staff who wanted it.
What? Frontline staff are our heroes and we don’t want them getting sick, or passing on the infection to the rest of us. PPE use should be mandated, especially in supermarkets, which we should