Take a look at NZ’s new normal
Covid-19 has turned Kiwi life on its head, changing the way we work and play. Jamie Morton looks at five areas that have been transformed by the pandemic.
We’ve experienced the strange lockdown of level 4, the slightly looser life of level 3, and now the comparative freedom of level 2.
But even as New Zealand slides down again, to level 1 –— something that could happen within weeks — life won’t be back to the way it was before the Covid-19 pandemic for a long time, or perhaps ever.
The Government is still firming up the details of level 1; it’s set a deadline of deciding whether to move to it no later than June 22, with the call obviously dependent on Covid-19 being kept at bay.
What detail it has been made public about level 1 suggests we’ll see the return of sports and recreation events, with no rules or restrictions around gatherings, personal movement, domestic travel and public venues.
Tough measures at the border will continue — overseas travel will likely be limited to Australia in the mediumterm, provided a transtasman bubble gets the green light — as will efforts to test, trace and scrupulously practise good hygiene.
And of course, anyone feeling sick or awaiting a Covid-19 test result should avoid mass transport or coming to work.
Schools, universities and early learning centres have restarted under level 2 — but if a probable or confirmed case of Covid-19 is found, they’ll have to close again immediately, as is the rule under level 1.
So will Kiwis be able to readjust to a new normal?
Victoria University clinical psychologist Dr Dougal Sutherland expects that many of us will have developed new ways of living during the lockdown period.
“We’ve set up home offices. Life has slowed down. We’ve had more time for the kids and the dog,” he says.
“The challenge for this group in returning to normal is how to hold on to the good things we’ve discovered and make them a permanent part of our lives.”
For others the new normal will bring with it harsh realities.
“We can’t return to our old job as it no longer exists. We may have to move house as we can’t afford the mortgage. The kids will have to go without, as money is hard to come by.
“The challenges for this group are obvious.”
As we emerge from the shadow of the coronavirus, he says, Kiwis have a challenge before them.
“Do we continue to show kindness, compassion, and practical support to those who are suffering?
“Or do we cast off these values as they were only temporary clothes worn in strange, unprecedented times? We are approaching a crossroads in our nation’s history.
“Do we choose to pick up the challenge and move forwards or do we turn our backs on this opportunity?”
TOURISM
Of all sectors, tourism has one of the longest roads back to recovery, and now needs Kiwis’ help more than ever.
When New Zealand’s skies emptied of big airliners, the immediate impact on our biggest export industry was felt across the country.
The one-two punch of a halt on flights from China — and then from everywhere — followed by six weeks of lockdown led to a plunge in spending at our most popular spots.
Hotels across the country went into hibernation and operators have been forced to spend huge sums to protect their $10 billion of assets.
Respondents to a recent tourism industry survey indicated they would normally have employed 27,635 fulltime staff in April, but that was halved because of Covid-19.
More than three quarters said they were taking major steps to adapt their businesses to the changed operating environment, including one third indicating they are going into hibernation for the foreseeable future.
Around 40 per cent are sharply reducing business size and capacity, and 21 per cent are scrambling for capital in order to survive.
In the short-term, the tourism industry has its hopes pinned to the $23b-a-year domestic market — and Kiwis are already being encouraged to swap that planned trip to Europe for a level 2 stay in Queenstown.
“The next few months will be a fantastic time for Kiwis to explore our own country and discover what attracts so many international visitors to New Zealand,” Tourism Industry Association chief executive Chris Roberts says. Tourism operators are keen to attract domestic travellers and were already offering special deals and packages.
“The new normal is to use a local tourism operator like you might do when overseas,” Roberts says.
“So, try going on a winery tour, taking a guided walk, booking some special accommodation rather than staying with your aunt, and dining out rather than grabbing something from the supermarket.”
Operators are also desperately hoping for a widened transtasman bubble — something Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says won’t be “too long” away.
She wouldn’t say when the bubble might open, but the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Tourism has an aspirational timeframe to have transtasman flights by July 1.
“Australia is our largest international visitor market by a long way, accounting for 40 per cent of all international visitors and almost 25 per cent of international visitor spend,” Roberts says.
“Operators are desperate for the transtasman bubble to be allowed as this will help save numerous businesses and jobs. There’s hope we can open the border in time for the ski season; if that can’t be achieved, the school holidays in late September and October are the next target.”
The Government has responded to the sector’s crisis with a $400 million targeted fund, alongside the extension of the wage subsidy scheme which will be available to many struggling operators.
HEALTH
The health sector — from hospitals and GP clinics to contact-tracers working out of local public health units — has been in the thick of New Zealand’s pandemic experience. Even with cases slowing to an ebb, level 2’s relaxed measures still haven’t allowed the clinical frontline to go back to situation normal.
While more non-urgent surgeries are being scheduled, and urgent and semi-urgent surgeries are resuming, GP and community service consultations are still widely being done over phone or video call.
New Zealand Medical Association chairwoman Kate Braddock says picking up normal service and addressing patients’ deferred health needs will be the first challenge. “This must take into account appropriately sensitive Covid-19 surveillance systems and public health units having mechanisms for rapidly activating surge capacity for contact tracing.”
She expects volumes of consulting will increase, all while still maintaining physical distancing — something sure to cause logistical challenges in GP clinics and hospitals. “Managing the capacity of both general practice and hospital staff will be crucial if we are going to ensure deferred issues are sorted and not missed,” she says.
“There is also the knock-on effect for general practice with the hospital waiting lists — the more patients need to wait, the more their condition may deteriorate, which puts the burden back on general practice staff looking after the patients in the community.”
She says telehealth might also pose challenges of its own.
“As doctors we know there is nothing the same as a face-to-face consultation to view the patients holistically,” she says.
“For GPs, watching a patient walk into our surgery and out of our consultation can often give more insight into the patient’s health than over the screen — and the hidden clues that may be missed otherwise.”
The post-lockdown downturn could also widen already significant health inequities — especially among Ma¯ori and Pacific people.
Looking further to level 1, New Zealand’s new normal has to take into account rigorous maintenance of border control measures, she says, with strictly enforced quarantine measures for all arrivals and appropriate testing and isolation of symptomatic arrivals.
“If the controls are in place and incidence remains zero, there is no need for routine use of masks and other PPE during most patient care.”
SCHOOLS
The sight of children returning to school this month was a welcome one for a country that endured the anxiety and uncertainty of the lockdown.
But back to school doesn’t mean back to normal, says Perry Rush, president of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation.
“The key question confronting everybody is how long are we going to be at level 2?”
Schools and centres are implementing a plethora of safety measures, while some are taking extra steps to be cautious.
Students and teachers are being asked to keep a metre away from each other — although there’s no set distance — and hand sanitiser is being posted at classroom doors and shared spaces.
Strict hygiene practices are required in playgrounds, while parents and students are being greeted each morning and afternoon with contact-tracing registers.
The return of school has prompted worry among many parents about a potential resurgence of Covid-19 — although studies, including fresh New Zealand modelling, have indicated there’s little risk of school children contracting and spreading the virus.
Unlike those of level 3, Rush thinks the measures for level 2 are much more realistic for school settings — and easier for young pupils to make sense of and adhere to.
“As we eventually move down to level 1 and beyond, you move to a situation where there aren’t any stringent expectations around physical distancing,” he says.
“That will probably be the most significant measure to normalise the life of a school, because schools are busy places and students and teachers all have to work alongside each other.
“But currently, we are able to meet in large groups, and I think that is bringing a sense of normalcy back to schooling.”
He thinks the biggest challenge in the long-term will be maintaining the need for strict hygiene — including ensuring children are kept home if sick — and looking out for those whose learning has been affected by the lockdown.
“Early assessments need to be made about the impact of this time on them, so we can target resourcing at them and ensure that appropriate progress is being made in the wake of this crisis,” he says.
“We don’t want to be in a position of having failed to recognise that this made a very significant impact on young people’s wellbeing.”
The Government has acknowledged this by scheduling end-of-year exams to start 10 days later than planned; the last exam will now be on December 9, instead of December 2.
RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY
The retail sector described the hit it took over April’s lockdown period as “economic carnage” — an observation backed by figures showing sales across the country’s 27,000 outlets slumped by nearly 80 per cent.
While the Government’s wage subsidy helped keep many of around 220,000 retail staff in jobs, further redundancies were expected as the pain suffered over the past few months set in.
But, under level 2, shops are back open for business, and, while contact tracing isn’t required like at other
businesses, customers are required to stay 2m apart from one another.
“Obviously we’re hoping that when we move to level 1, we can move completely away from the distancing and contact-tracing requirements,” Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford says.
Before then, he says, retailers will have to recover from the past eight weeks.
“The sector is basically on its knees. It’s still had a whole lot of fixed costs coming in over this period, but with no revenue,” he says.
“The profitability of retail is low across the board — so it’s not sustainable to not have that cashflow over a long period of time.”
He singles out the fashion space, where stores are having to off-load out-of-season stock they weren’t able to sell during lockdown.
After the 2008-09 global financial crisis, it took the sector six years to recover to pre-existing levels of employment — and Harford expects the road back from this shock will be longer and rockier.
“Another big issue is around consumer confidence. We know that household incomes have taken a hit over the last few weeks . . . and that will impact on consumers to get out and spend on retail.”
His message to Kiwis is to shop local — either in their towns, or with New Zealand companies online.
“It’s retail and hospitality that keep towns alive and vibrant. Without them, there’d be no life and sound.”
Statistics NZ data specifically for hospitality shows spending on cafes, restaurants, takeaway food, and bars fell 95 per cent ($814m) compared with April 2019, after also falling 29 per cent ($266m) in March 2020 compared with March 2019.
Hospitality NZ is also asking people to support their nearest and favourite establishments as part of the new Cheers to Your Local campaign — while maintaining distancing.
“Hospitality New Zealand has been working closely with the Government on the operating guidelines for our industry,” chief executive Julie White says.
“We know how important our venues are in our communities, with people eager to get back to socialising with friends, family and loved ones.”
White says New Zealand’s bars, cafes and restaurants will be the safest place for people to socialise and will bring vitality back into our communities, as well as providing employment for thousands of Kiwis.
SPORTS AND EVENTS
Sport is a huge part of Kiwi life — but restrictions will mean our professional teams are having to play before empty stadiums until level 1.
Codes and clubs have been told by the Government that, while professional sports can resume under current levels, restrictions on gatherings mean they won’t be performing to the fanfare they’re used to.
The sports and recreation sector annually pumps around $5b into New Zealand’s GDP and employs about 53,000 people.
But it has been among the areas most devastated by the pandemic, prompting the Government to issue a $265m lifeline — $78m of that going toward innovation and technology allowing games to go ahead in the new environment.
Sport NZ chief executive Peter Miskimmin says people reap many benefits from following or playing in their favourite teams or codes — but that had stopped “literally overnight”.
For sports organisations, revenue has dried up as funding sources like community groups and sponsors had shut down over lockdown.
“It all ground to a halt really quickly. Some of the groups have been able to adjust their cost structure, but for a lot of them, no income has been coming in, while liabilities have been going out.”
For top athletes — like those who had been training for Tokyo — the pandemic has been emotionally crushing.
On the upside, he adds, the lockdown has encouraged more adults to get more active — and he hopes to see that carry on under levels 1 and 2.
“In the medium term, we’re thinking about how we can get those codes back and up and going for the wintertime.”
Like packed All Blacks tests, big concerts are also a spectacle we’ll hopefully all get to experience soon.
Level 2 has made ticketed large events, including conferences, theatres and stadiums subject to a 100-person limit, with guests having to be seated, distanced, traced and have access to hygiene measures.
This month, the New Zealand Events Association put together a draft discussion paper after consulting with major players in the events industry, requesting Government help including a $50m “Covid19 events stimulus and recovery fund”.
Though there was no targeted events industry support in this month’s Budget, the industry has been encouraged by indications of support through a Government recovery fund. Association general manager Segolene de Fontenay says the events industry was one of the first sectors to be hit by the impact of Covid-19 with a “huge domino effect”.
“It’s affected not just big events but the smaller community.
“Even before the ban on mass gatherings and the lockdown, the picture was pretty grim.
“Our concern is to ask the Government for immediate and targeted support . . . events are needed as a part of our economic and social recovery.”
Meanwhile, another grassroots campaign, Save our Venues, is seeking to raise $500,000 to keep gig spaces afloat over the coming months.
[Covid-19] has affected not just big events but the smaller community. Even before the ban on mass gatherings and the lockdown, the picture was pretty grim.
Segolene de Fontenay, New Zealand Events Association