Tauranga businesses brace for summer as third wave of Covid-19 cases hits

Papamoa East Bakery and Flaveur Breads store owner Robert Korenhoff has had to revert to a takeaway service at the bakery due to staff illnesses and increasing business costs. Photo / Mead Norton

Tauranga businesses are bracing for the next few months, battling rising costs, staff sickness, and a shortage of workers as a public health expert says there was “no question” the country was experiencing a third wave of Covid-19 cases.

One business has reverted to takeaway only as sales drop while another fears more businesses could close if there was another lockdown.

Meanwhile, an event organiser says the past two years had prepared them for any significant outbreak and they were “ready to press go” on this summer’s events.

The latest Ministry of Health figures showed case numbers in the Bay of Plenty and Lakes district have jumped.

Bay of Plenty cases climbed from 442 between October 1 and 7 to 669 between November 15 and 20. In Rotorua, cases rose from 225 between October 1 and 7 to 343 between November 15 and 20.

There were 2327 cases reported in the Bay of Plenty in October. This month, up to November 20, there were 2020 cases.

In the Lakes area, there were 1180 cases reported in October. Up to November 20, there were 988 cases.

So far this year, 85,983 cases have been reported in the Bay of Plenty and a further 38,636 in the Lakes.

Robert Korenhoff, who owns Papamoa East Bakery, Flaveur Breads and Cafe Demitasse, said he was currently three staff down across his businesses and struggling to find replacements.

Korenhoff said while he did not have big bank loans to pay, he had used “quite a bit” of personal money to help keep his businesses afloat.

He said aside from Covid-19 lockdowns and staff absences, business expenses including rents, inflation, and the cost of ingredients had risen significantly.

“I”m very concerned about what might be coming around the corner. The two previous lockdowns hurt small businesses, not just ours. If it happens again it could mean more small businesses could go under, especially if there isn’t the same financial support from the Government.”

Korenhoff said another lockdown would mean he would probably have to scale his businesses down because operating a contactless takeaway or delivery service was “pretty expensive” and not feasible as it took a lot of staff and time to operate and manage.

Another Tauranga food business owner said three of his staff were away on sick leave, including one with Covid-19. It was currently operating a takeaway service only but was exploring the possibility of using the Uber Eats delivery service.

The business owner, who asked not to be identified for privacy reasons, said he had owned the business for 18 months and in that time had had to lay off three staff - not only because of the impacts of Covid but due to increasing costs of food, power, fuel, wages, inflation, and other factors out of his control.

“It’s been a struggle managing through the lockdowns and things have gone further downhill since January due to staffing cuts and the other impacts. It’s real hard when key staff are away sick for an extended period, and it impacted the other staff too.”

The owner also said having to revert to a takeaway service had “decimated” his sales. His takings had halved within four days.

“We need to be able to make as much money as possible now as the business closes for two weeks from December 24,” he said.

“I don’t want to have to let any more of my staff go. It’s not the now I am really worried about, it’s what’s going happen in the next 18 months, especially if we have more lockdowns.”

Last month the Government changed Covid-19 response legislation to remove its powers to implement lockdowns, vaccine mandates and managed isolation or quarantine. It kept the ability to require positive cases to isolate for seven days, mask use in some healthcare settings and to set conditions for those travelling to New Zealand.

Another lockdown would require new legislation and Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said at the time this was “highly unlikely”. He said some options had been retained if another wave of the virus occurred.

Bay Dreams organiser Mitch Lowe. Photo / NZME

Last month the Government changed Covid-19 response legislation to remove its powers to implement lockdowns, vaccine mandates and managed isolation or quarantine, meaning another lockdown would require new legislation.

Bay Dreams organiser Mitch Lowe said if there was another significant Covid outbreak over the summer, festival organisers had health and safety plans in place.

“We have learned so much about Covid in the past two years and we are ready to press go in the event of any significant outbreak. We feel pretty agile now we have figured out what we need to do to respond to another outbreak to ensure we meet our health and safety obligations.”

Lowe said if Covid cases suddenly surged, forcing changes to the restrictions, Bay Dreams had the ability to contact every event attendee within an hour by email, text message, and social media platforms.

University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker urged people to be cautious over summer.

“Right now the [Ministry of Health] figures are telling us that we are in the third wave of the pandemic, there is no question about it. It’s just that this wave is not as steep or as abrupt as the two previous Omicron ones.”

Baker said there was also an increasing number of people being reinfected, not all positive cases were reported and not everybody was having their third and fourth doses of the vaccine.

“It’s really important people keep up-to-date with their vaccinations, and self-report their positive Covid tests so we have a clearer picture of our infection rates.”

Baker also urged people to vigilant about wearing masks when visiting places that were not well-ventilated, as well as aged care facilities, and other vulnerable people and said he would like to see the return of the mask-wearing mandate on public transport.

Restaurant Association of NZ chief executive Marisa Bidois said the biggest issue facing the industry was access to skilled labour.

“More Covid cases among our workforce create more staff shortages, which is a concern as we head into our busiest season.

“The summer season is an incredibly important time of year for our businesses. With the last two years of subdued trading, it’s more important than ever that hospitality is able to operate at full capacity to recoup some of the losses, but we haven’t been able to do that this year.”

Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley said blanket Covid restrictions in the event of another significant outbreak was not the answer.

“When I bring the subject up, you can see the grimace on the faces of both employers and professional workers. Whether it’s post-traumatic stress or that they feel the virus was not as bad as how the Government had depicted, it’s clear that the large majority of business owners do not support bringing back Covid restrictions.”

Cowley said people would be more compliant with targeted rules including wearing face masks in hospitals and retirement homes.

“We have reached the point where we are learning to live with the virus.”

In a written statement, a spokesperson from the Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty arm of Te Whatu Ora Health NZ said the health authority was “continuing to monitor health system pressures and performance across the motu”.

“Covid-19 has been incredibly testing ... We are continuing to do all we can to support our hospitals, clinics and emergency departments and other health providers.”

Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was already here. Photo / Supplied