29 November 2021
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: COVID Protection Framework announcements
Enquiry
Reporter sought comment from Mayor Chadwick following today’s announcements re the new COVID protection framework.
Reporter also sought comment from RED CE Andrew Wilson with the following questions:
How do you think red/orange (whichever we end up in) will impact Rotorua businesses from an economic perspective?
What concerns do you have about starting in this level?
What level did you hope for starting in and why?
What do you hope for moving forward?
What fears/concerns do you have about the new variant Omicron?
Reporter also sought comment from RED:
How do you think red/orange (whichever we end up in) will impact Rotorua businesses from an economic perspective?
What concerns do you have about starting in this level?
What level did you hope for starting in and why?
What do you hope for moving forward?
What fears/concerns do you have about the new variant Omicron?
Response
Mayor Chadwick spoke to the reporter by phone and made the following key points:
- Red a blow but not unexpected given our vaccination rates – will need to continue the push for vaccination to protect people – and our economy – so we can have the sort of summer we’re all hoping for.
- We really need to be able to operate as freely as possible this summer for the sake of our tourism, hospitality and events sectors in particular
- They’ve borne the brunt of the pandemic locally and we continue to worry about their future and the future of the people they employ.
- We don’t want to get stuck in red or orange.
- We want a great summer as much certainty as is possible in a pandemic – for our businesses and for everyone
- Multiple variants is not uncommon or unexpected – early days yet with the new variant
- Obviously anything more virulent has potential to spread faster and wider and to change things very quickly again – NZ and across the world
Response from RED CE Andrew Wilson:
We anticipate there will be minimal disruption for businesses who choose to require customers to use vaccination certificates as the traffic light system means they will be able to continue to operate across all of the different traffic light colours.
However for places that choose not to use vaccination certificates, they will either have to close or put public health measures in place.
This will obviously create significant issues from a business continuity perspective and potentially cause perception issues as those not requiring vaccination certificates may not be seen as covid-safe places to visit or do business.
Some businesses have told us they are still trying to understand what the traffic light system means for them and we understand this is a very complex subject. It’s important for our business community to reach out and access the correct information so they can understand what it means for them. Information provided by business.govt.nz last week provides good guidance and clarity to help businesses navigate this space.
Many of our businesses are heavily reliant on visitors over the Summer period, especially given the impacts of this year’s lockdown restrictions. We continue to urge everyone to get vaccinated to help improve our chances of staying out of the red light and avoiding lockdowns.