New Zealand retail sector appeals to loosen Covid-19 restriction

WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s retail trade association Retail NZ asked the government on Sunday to move to Step 2 of the Auckland Roadmap this week, and to get stores in Auckland and the Waikato region open after nearly 11 weeks of lockdown.

“While the government ultimately planning to introduce a new Traffic Light system called the Covid Protection Framework, we are still stuck in the old Alert Level system, and at Step 1 of the so-called Auckland Roadmap,” Retail NZ’s Chief Executive Greg Harford said in an announcement.

He called for the opening of retail sector with necessary safety measures, citing “enormous mental and financial harm being caused by the current lockdown.”

“There is real concern that the ongoing lockdown could extend up to Christmas or even into the New Year, which would be simply catastrophic for the survival of businesses and the retention of jobs”, Harford said.

Auckland has been in a lockdown since mid-August over the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus.

New Zealand recorded 143 new community cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, with 135 in Auckland, six in Waikato and two in Northland, according to the Ministry of Health.