Arrivals told the ODT how they were feeling after learning of the two positive Covid-19 cases in Christchurch.
Pat McKenna, from Balclutha, a self-employed fabricator and welder, had transited through Christchurch from Nelson, where he had been for a centenary cricket tournament and visiting family. Now on his way home to Balclutha, he said he was "a little bit disappointed, but I think a lot of people are. It’s just the way it is." He said it had only been a matter of time before the virus made its way into the South Island: "Last week it was in Blenheim, now it’s here. It’s just inevitable now," he said.
Neko MacAskill (15) and Sariah MacAskill (14), who were coming home to Dunedin after visiting Christchurch for a funeral, said if there was a lockdown, they would stay in Dunedin to ride it out. Their father lives in Christchurch. When he first heard the news from a friend about the Covid-19 cases in Christchurch, Neko thought it was a joke. He "searched it up online straight away and saw it was real. I was bummed out." However, despite disappointment, both he and sister Sariah said they were "pretty used to it [Covid] now" and "it is what it is". Sariah was prepared for it to happen. "It was bound to happen at some point," she said.
Lee Barrington, who lives in Christchurch, is a business-owner who travelled to Dunedin for a wedding. She was angry and "disappointed" the infectious people had been able to travel and the Delta strain of Covid-19 was now in the South.
