The streets of Coromandel town were empty on Wednesday morning. Photo / George Novak
The streets of Coromandel town were empty on Wednesday morning. Photo / George Novak
Coromandel business owners are losing sleep as they grapple with their new reality following a positive Covid-19 case visiting the community at the weekend.
A Devonport man and his wife spent the weekend in the Coromandel township before the man tested positive on Tuesday, propelling the nation into lockdown.
Jak'sCafe and Bar owner Jan Caris said he was one of the close contacts of the infected customer who visited on Saturday.
"It is a bit nerve-racking. I am just waiting on my results to come back and then we will go from there."
Caris said the situation was less than ideal and the business would be hanging out for the warmer months which attracted people to the town.
"We were pretty lucky last year even though we were closed, it didn't really affect the Coromandel and this time it's a bit of an eye-opener. We're just nervous, and nervous for all the other businesses around - it's wintertime and we struggle anyway.
"We just have to make the best of a bad situation."
Umu Cafe owner Josie Fraser was holding up "all right" but was losing sleep worrying about staff and the future of the business, she said.
"It's nerve-racking, I didn't have much sleep last night just because of all the things going round in my head.
"My focus at the moment is really on making sure my staff are okay and sorting if there are things I can do to help them," she said.
The business is one of a dozen places the 58-year-old Covid-positive man visited. Between Friday and Sunday, he and his wife went to Umu three times.
Fraser has been tested, along with other staff members who were working at the time.
The cafe facilities had not yet been deep cleaned, as Fraser firmly believed level 4 would be in place for "quite some time".
"That will happen a bit further down the track, there is no rush," she said.
The case has meant that along with Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula will be locked down for at least seven days. At this stage, all positive cases identified have been in the Auckland region.
Coromandel MP Scott Simpson had received "lots of inquiries" from concerned individuals in Waihī, Waihī Beach, Ngātea and Paeroa unclear about the boundary definitions of the Coromandel.
"When the Prime Minister put the whole country into lockdown 48 hours ago, she made it clear Auckland and Coromandel would be in a seven-day lockdown and potentially the rest of the country only for three days. There hasn't been a definition of what the Coromandel is.
"We are waiting to see what that definition is, and I have been in touch with the Prime Minister's office. They are waiting on further information about the general state of the nationwide situation before they will make a definition."
The Coromandel township on the first day of lockdown. Photo / George Novak
During a trip to a Thames supermarket yesterday, Simpson said he was "pleasantly surprised" at how smoothly things were running.
"Everyone that I saw was doing what they should be doing - wearing masks, scanning in and out," he said.
"We have got a community that is understanding, naturally concerned and a little fearful of the unknown but is willing to do what is required of them."
He encouraged community members to check in on elderly neighbours who lived alone.
"In the Coromandel, we have got one of the most mature age groups in the country. Many of them live alone and they don't have immediate family nearby," he said.
"Now is a good time to get on the phone and just check - have a bit of a yarn and a natter."
The streets of Coromandel town were empty on Wednesday morning. Photo / George Novak
Thames Coromandel District Council Whangamatā Community Board deputy chairman Dave Ryan said while he hadn't been outside of his house, traffic on the bypass road behind his property was next to non-existent.
Ryan did not believe residents were concerned about isolating for the seven days, despite being a long distance from the Coromandel township on the western side.
"I think people accept it, it's a reality of life. Because of the age of the people in this township, we have to respect this and ensure their safety."
Coromandel Family Health Centre general practitioner Dr Bryan MacLeod said they were trying to manage the majority of patients virtually, but some could be seen at the clinic if necessary.
Staff at the clinic were focusing on rolling out Covid-19 vaccinations today on a small scale, he said.
"Yesterday we helped by doing a lot of Covid testing. Today we are leaving that to the Covid-19 testing site, and we are focusing on getting immunisation processes up and working," he said.
A spokesman of Richardsons Real Estate Coromandel said all was well with their staff but they were still awaiting their test results.
"There were two staff in the office at the time [the infected man walked in]. We are following the Ministry of Health guidelines and at the end of the day, all is well."
Lockdown was "part and parcel of the process" and it ultimately would not affect the business in the way it would affect the hospitality sector.
