‘A big sigh of relief’ — local leaders welcome level 2
Lewis and McDouall support need for some restrictions to keep community safe
Whanganui leaders are backing the new tougher version of alert level 2, designed to give further freedom in the community while also playing it safe amid the Delta outbreak.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday that all of New Zealand, excluding the Auckland region, would move to alert level 2 at 11.59pm tonight.
New alert level 2 rules mean restaurants may open, but with stricter limits on how many people can gather.
Masks will also be compulsory in all indoor settings, and gatherings will be limited to just 50 people indoors and 100 outdoors.
“A move to level 2 with a few changes is good. I think a lot of people will be relieved,” Whanganui MP Steph Lewis said.
“It will affect a few events that are no doubt planned, and it will also affect places like libraries now, with two-metre distancing required.
“There will still be some impact on local businesses but our hospitality and retail sectors have got pretty used to it by now.”
Lewis said the shift would be welcome news to most, but it was important the community still recognised the need for some restrictions and stuck to the rules.
“I think I’ve said before — the ability to quickly contact-trace is incredibly important in terms of our ability to determine the perimeter of an outbreak. It’s fundamental that people continue to scan and take all necessary precautions.”
Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said the change was a positive step for the district.
“It’s very pleasing to be able to go to level 2 — I think everybody will be breathing a big sigh of relief,” McDouall said.
“And it’s good that the kids are going back to school — I’m sure a lot of parents will be breathing a big sigh of relief and a lot of kids will be amping to get back.”
McDouall said one of the most consequential factors of level 2 was the resumption of both retail and hospitality, two sectors McDouall said he would be supporting when the level dropped.
“I’m encouraging everyone to go out and support our local businesses. I’ll certainly be going out and supporting some of my favourite spots.
“I’ve lost a lot of weight in lockdown too, so I’m going to go out and buy some running shoes from a local business so I can get even fitter.
“We’ve got to just embrace the new restrictions. They’re based on fairly good health analysis. While there’s something as insidious as Delta, it’s necessary.”
The Whanganui business community is also understood to be pleased with the change, allowing hospitality and retail to return to some degree of normality.
“Businesses will be very pleased to get back to level 2 with the announcement of the change in levels,” Whanganui Chamber of Commerce president Glenda Brown said in a statement.
“This is certainly going have a big impact on health and safety procedures, and more than ever businesses will need to check and amend their policies and procedures to ensure they meet the rigid guidelines.”
But Brown warned that it isn’t all going to be plain sailing.
“We need to be mindful that businesses will incur additional costs to operate safely and to adhere to the guidelines.
“We know Whanganui is resilient, and with the excellent support we have seen so far for our businesses
by the community at large, we know we can carefully and safely navigate the next few weeks. If any of our businesses need support, we encourage them to get in touch.”
Whanganui DHB chief executive Russell Simpson said the announcement was welcome.
“It does [change things] and we’ll be looking at our planned care arrangements and planning that with our team.”
Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield raised concerns about the state of testing across the country after rates of testing dropped nationwide, including Whanganui.
Simpson said while testing has dropped, there was still awareness of the risks of Covid-19 among the com
munity.