Level 3 ‘a huge relief’ for businesses
Economy is well placed to bounce back, business leader says Many businesses partially reopen
Backed-up drive-throughs, busy cafes and an influx of online orders brought businesses “huge relief” yesterday but despite the boost level 2 can’t come fast enough, a business leader says.
After two weeks of strict level 4 restrictions, many businesses were able to partially re-open for contactless pick-up, delivery or drivethrough.
Priority One’s chief executive Nigel Tutt said level 3 was expected to bring in around 10 to 15 per cent more activity compared to level 4, with big sectors like construction and manufacturing now able to work.
“The economy is well placed to bounce back, and we’ll need locals to support local businesses to help with that.”
He said businesses had adapted better to lockdown so far, and more hospitality businesses were keen to operate under level 3 than last year.
“In saying that, level 2 can’t come fast enough.”
Alimento Cafe´ co-owner Kira Soeburg said they were busier than when they moved to level 3 last year but it was a far cry from usual.
Soeburg said they were fortunate the snap lockdown came before three
orders from three suppliers were due, meaning they did not have a large volume of fresh produce go off.
She said people seemed happy to be out and about.
“We’ve had a few people say ‘thank you for being open’, which I think is so lovely.”
Cafes weren’t the only businesses bustling.
Select Lawn Mowing Tauranga owner-operator Adam Fenech was under the pump, with a “hell of a catch-up” on untouched lawns.
Fenech said being able to work again was “a huge relief”.
He will be able to do 10 to 13 lawns as “the day is still as long as it was before lockdown”.
Schools also opened their doors to the children of essential workers at level 3.
O¯ tu¯ moetai Primary School deputy principal Marcus Hughes said moving to this was “a breeze” compared to last year, as all the systems were already in place.
The majority of the children on the roll of 568 were still learning from home but the school had 30 children at school in three learning bubbles.
Each bubble had its own gate to enter, classroom, toilet and area to play. Family bubbles were kept together.
He said the school was making being on-site as fun as possible, with students’ wellbeing at the forefront.
Hughes said they were fortunate that the school grounds were large.
“I really feel for the smaller schools that have a lot of essential workers.”
Mount Maunganui Concrete Cutting owner Brett Morrison said the phones were flat out yesterday, with people trying to re-book their jobs, but there was 14 days of missed work that needed to be caught up on.
He said all the cutters knew each other and were sharing the load of the backlog.
Morrison and his pregnant partner were also meant to move house on the Friday after lockdown was announced, and he had been living in his packed-up house with no internet, and buttering bread with his eftpos card because he couldn’t find the knives.
He worked half a day yesterday so they could move to the new house.
Mount Maunganui’s Brent Holmes headed to the water at 8am to get in a hydrofoil surf to clear his head before a busy day.
Holmes said it was busy considering the conditions weren’t the best and it was “exciting” to be able to get back in the water. Holmes went from the waves to a house viewing and auction.
Mount Maunganui’s Tania Graham-brown forgot that it was level 3 until a friend sent a picture of herself having a coffee at Tay St Cafe.
She was out walking her dog, Nalu,