Opinion: Cafes and Budget booked in for Thursday

Contractors work on planting flowers in a roundabout in Hastings as level 2 nears. Photo / Warren Buckland

by Craig Cooper

PM Jacinda Ardern's level 2 announcement today walked a fine line between the usual calm, collected address from our elected Mother of the Nation, and occasionally straying towards the tone of a school principal warning potentially naughty students.

We knew level 2 was coming - today's announcement was about when, and the finer detail of the rules.

As Mother of the Nation, Ardern advised cafe and restaurants they could re-open from Thursday, with - as flagged last week - table service and customers seated at a safe distance.

The tone changed a little for pubs and bars, who must be feeling like the black sheep of the family right now. They can't open for another 10 days, and if you're thinking of having a party at home - only 10 people.

Ardern justified the "10 people" rule by saying that based on overseas experiences, Covid-19 levels had been relaxed, and large social gatherings then led to further outbreaks.

It's tempting to add that after a few drinks, New Zealanders clearly can't be trusted to stay at safe social distances from one another. But the reality is that, when it comes to Covid-19, this is a government that has erred on the side of caution.

It won't stop some bar owners from feeling a tad disgruntled right now, but there is a clear fear that premature celebration has the potential to take us two steps forward and three back.

Ardern had suggested last week that not everyone, or perhaps that should be everything, would be subject to level 2 rules straight away.

That prompted some speculation that perhaps inter-regional travel would be restricted, but those barriers have come down, so expect some out of town competition to grab a table at your favourite cafe or restaurant. It's a great problem to have.

Is this the right way to go about easing our way back to healthy normality?

Did we dive too soon into level 4, while our Australian neighbours took a more relaxed approach that was less damaging to its economy?

We will never know, because there is no handbook, no baseline comparison for Covid-19 management.

But on Thursday, when we celebrate level 2, let's hope the Budget has some powerful financial medicine for an economy finally starting to show signs of recovery.