News the South is to stay at Covid-19 Alert Level 2 until early September was a "hard pill to swallow" for some yesterday.
The University of Otago cancelled its August 29 graduation, secondary school events were up in the air, and already hurting businesses in the hospitality, retail and accommodation sectors were facing further significant losses.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday afternoon Auckland would remain at Level 3 until 11.59pm on Sunday and then join the rest of New Zealand at Level 2 until at least September 6.
She also announced face masks must be be worn on buses, planes, trains, ferries and taxis at Levels 2, 3 and 4 from Monday.
The details are still being worked out.
There were nine new Covid-19 cases in New Zealand yesterday, eight of them linked to the Auckland cluster.
The other case is in managed isolation in Auckland.
Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins said the Level 3 restrictions in Auckland had not just affected people there, but its residents had in recent weeks made "significantly greater sacrifices" and the response now should be a collective one, "rather than focusing on our own neighbourhood, or our own city, or our own region".
"It’s obviously disappointing for Dunedin to have Alert Level 2 extended, particularly for people who were planning on large gatherings, like graduation, and the sectors of our economy that rely on those large gatherings, this year more than ever," he said.
"But I think it’s the right decision for the country as a whole.
"And I think we do need to be thinking about this as a country as opposed to isolated regions," Mr Hawkins said.
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dougal McGowan said the chamber was "a bit disappointed" the level had not changed for the South Island, where there were no confirmed cases.
With the shift to Level 2 there had been a sharp retraction in spending, there were fewer people working from offices in town, and businesses were hurting.
Stuart St Mac’s Brew Bar co-owner Mark Fraser said there had been hopes of coming out of Level 2 and going into a "nice celebratory weekend" with a good turnover.
For a bar, the news was "devastating".
"I’m gutted, absolutely gutted. That’s the only way to put it.
"As far as I’m aware everyone I’ve talked to feels the same way," he said.
Otago Motel Association president and Dunedin Palms Motel owner Alex Greenan said he had already lost $30,000 in revenue since the return to Level 2.
September did not look good either.
If the Auckland outbreak continued, his business would be in "more strife" — but even though he understood the reasons for the decision, it was "still disheartening".
"It’s a mental game you’re playing, because we got kicked when it first happened, but we felt like we were building back up.
"Now we’re right back down at the bottom. It feels even worse than the last time."
Enterprise Dunedin director John Christie said it was understandable that businesses wanted to return to Level 1.
He believed an eventual return to the lower level would bring a return to spending for those sectors that were hurting.
Not all businesses were feeling the financial crunch in the same way, he said.
There were "a number of businesses that will struggle to hang on to staff that they’ve currently got".
"We’re actually very dependent on the Auckland economy," he said.
"It’s worth hundreds of thousands of dollars a day to Dunedin’s economy as well.
"The sooner we can see Auckland able to move around again, I think, the better for our economic recovery."
Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association regional sports director Nicki Paterson said the secondary school winter tournament week Level 2 contingencies were largely in place but more detail would be available today.
Logan Park High School co-principal Kristan Mouat said the school’s formal committee was meeting today to discuss its options, but had already booked a postponement date for the school formal scheduled for August 29.
In a letter to graduands provided to the Otago Daily Times by the university, University of Otago registrar and secretary to the council Chris Stoddart confirmed all graduands scheduled to take part in the August 29 ceremony would graduate in absentia.
Further afield, the 64th Alexandra Blossom Festival would be held on the weekend of September 26 as planned but the sale of local tickets would be delayed a week, event manager Martin McPherson said.
