‘Covid anxiety’ behind low turnout
For an instant, Grey Power South Taranaki secretary Jackie Morrow thought she had deleted the minutes as she was readying for its recent meeting, then she realised there were none – it has been seven months since the group last met.
The organisation’s first meeting for the year in Hāwera this week attracted only 30 people, a little over half the normal turnout of 50 to 60 that come to hear the guest speakers at its monthly meetings.
‘‘There is still a lot of uncertainty and anxiety amongst the elderly, where they are able to go, what the rules are,’’ Morrow said.
She had heard that other clubs and associations were finding the same.
‘‘They have been in lockdown so long, people’s habits have changed as well.’’
Morrow said some older people were hunkering down at home and avoiding going out into the community because of anxiety around Covid.
But regular outings and being involved in groups helped people stay connected, she said. ‘‘It’s so important for older people to be involved in things. So many don’t have close neighbours or family and friends popping in.’’
Monday’s meeting, with members all masked, chairs spaced out and vaccine passes checked, was the first since July 2021, she said.
‘‘We had our midwinter Christmas celebration in August then went into lockdown. With the Covid situation, we were surprised to get this many,’’ she said.
New Plymouth Combined Club president Neil Sulzberger said there was a slight drop in attendance at the club’s first meeting this year, as older members and those with low immunity stayed away.
‘‘Normally we get about 80 people, this time we had just over 60, so we are down a little bit.’’
But the club’s other activities, which include organised dinners and lunches, for less than 100 people and with vaccine passes, were as popular as ever, he said.
‘‘We are taking the attitude, rightly or wrongly, life has to go on, so we are giving people the opportunity to go to these events we have. You just have to be socially responsible about how you interact with people.’’
It didn’t take long for farmers to rally around one of their own after a South Taranaki milking shed was partially destroyed by a fire last Thursday.
Fire and Emergency crews were called to Lower Hunter Rd, Eltham, about 9am, when part of the shed went up in flames.
‘‘It was fully involved when we got there,’’ Eltham fire chief Dave Waite said.
He said two Eltham crews and one Kaponga crew, with the help of the Stratford tanker, were able to extinguish the blaze within a couple of hours.
‘‘We had a good save. The main milking part of the shed was saved.’’
He said initial indications were the fire was caused by an electrical fault, ‘‘following on from the recent storm events’’.
Waite said before crews had even left, local farmers and the community were already rallying around.
He said the biggest concern after fires like this, which tend to see electricity lost on the whole farm, is stock welfare.
Fellow farmers were arranging to get water pumps going for troughs, and where the cows would be milked that evening,
Waite said.