Move to orange light a ‘major relief’ for city
Hospitality, event businesses are set to experience ‘‘major relief’’ across the country, in particular Auckland, as New Zealand moved to the orange traffic light setting at 11.59pm yesterday.
Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed the decision at yesterday’s 1pm press conference, the alert level shift means all gathering restrictions are removed.
Mask requirements remain until the green traffic light setting, apart from at schools, where they are encouraged but no longer required.
For hospitality businesses, it means the removal of the 200 gathering restriction for indoor gatherings, as well as operators no longer needing to space tables.
Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck called the move to orange a significant move.
Auckland’s CBD restaurants have been struggling financially for years, with the business district lacking in foot traffic and patronage because of the ‘‘fear factor’’ of Covid-19.
‘‘This is a major relief after two years at the epicentre of the pandemic. Things have started to look up over the last few weeks, with an increase in foot traffic and spending – but with the numbers still down significantly on last year, orange will bring an injection of people back into the city centre,’’ Beck said.
‘‘We’ve been very worried about this; we’ve been in red for all this time – almost 30 weeks of restrictions. It’s extraordinary people have been able to last this long. They’ve gone far too long without support and business, but still it doesn’t change a very difficult situation for them.’’
Auckland restaurant owner Chand Sahrawat lost one of her restaurants, Cassia, to flooding late last month.
She has been struggling to keep revenue flowing with French cafe, her other restaurant, to keep staff employed while Cassia is rebuilt.
For those in the education sector, the shift to orange means the relaxing of rules around masks and social distancing.
Secondary Principals’ Association chairperson Michael Williams said the removal of masks makes ‘‘life a lot easier and more comfortable for everyone’’.