Robyn Edie / Stuff
Chris Ramsay, CEO of ILT, says customers are already acting as if the country is functioning under the green environment, and was surprised to see that the orange environment remains in place. [file photo]
Some Southland businesses are frustrated “uncomfortable” mask rules will remain if the country stays in the orange traffic light environment.
Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall announced on Thursday that the country will remain in the orange traffic light environment as hospitals are under pressure from a combination of the flu and Covid-19.
Re-infection advice has also been changed, with anyone experiencing symptoms 29 days or longer after a previous infection now having to test and isolate themselves if they are positive.
Previously, the advice was that testing was not necessary 90 days or less after a previous infection.
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This comes when the Ministry of Health on Thursday reported 648 new cases of Covid-19 in the Southern DHB, with 24 Covid-19 cases currently in hospital in Southland and Otago.
There were 7423 new community affairs nationally, it said.
Chris Ramsay, CEO of Invercargill Licensing Trust, said his raw reaction to the news was surprise and disappointment.
“From everything we see and experience, the public acts as if we are at level one … which is equivalent to green,” he said.
He did not think it made sense for staff to be required to wear masks while working at events where hundreds of participants were not present.
“It’s very uncomfortable for our staff,” he said.
The new re-infection rule will “not boost productivity levels”, he said, as the trust is already dealing with staff sickness.
Robyn Edie / Stuff
Gore Paper Plus owner Doug Grant said it was “extremely quiet” in retail under the orange light environment. [File photo]
Gore Paper Plus owner and Gore Go Retail member Doug Grant said the difference in mask rules between hospitality and retail was “a little crazy”.
Under the orange traffic light setting, both customers and workers in retail environments must wear masks, while in hospitality only workers are required to wear masks.
“Depending on the size of the store, customers are generally not in the store for that long … people are in and out … in hospitality you can be there for hours.”
It was “extremely quiet” in retail at the time, and he hoped a green traffic light institution would bring people back to the streets that support locals.
Les Sheikh Hair Design owner Richelle Holland said her team made a decision ahead of the government’s announcement to keep masks in place while both the flu and Covid-19 circulated in the community.
“While we find the masks annoying and would like to take out our coffees and magazines again, there is still a bit [of Covid-19] out there, and the flu – some people say it’s worse than Covid-19 … so for ourselves we made the decision to keep them a little longer, ”she said.
Close contact businesses such as hairdressers still have to wear masks under the orange environment.
Holland was hopeful that the country would turn green in “a few months” as masks were uncomfortable for hairdressers, but was happy to continue under current institutions until the flu season is over.