There were 960 people with Covid-19 in hospitals around the country on Tuesday, and two more deaths.
Video / Mark Mitchell / NZ Herald
Opinion by Georgina Campbell
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
If Wellingtonians don't snap out of their self-imposed mini lockdowns, there won't be much left of the city as we know it to come back to.
Last week I spoke to restaurant owners who were not just having to reduce hours and close because their staff were isolating, theywere also forced to do this because foot traffic is so low.
One anecdote from Floriditas co-owner Dominique Fourie McMillan struck me. She said on the same night Floriditas won Cuisine's Best Casual Dining award and received two coveted hats, just six people dined at the restaurant itself for dinner.
After hearing this I immediately booked a dinner date at my favourite Wellington restaurant Ombra on Friday night. We finished the evening off at Noble Rot, which had reduced its wine by the glass list to one page because too many bottles were going off.
Going out for dinner in our household is a treat and last Friday was conveniently pay day.
The cost of living is through the roof right now and I understand not everyone has money to spare, but this is Wellington where there are still plenty of people who do.
It's not just the hospitality industry suffering, Zealandia sent out an email the other week saying visitors were the eco sanctuary's main source of income, but people were staying at home. The email asked for donations for the wildlife oblivious to Covid-19.
Wellingtonians, and others, must stop their self-imposed Covid lockdowns and embrace life again. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The problem is we've spent so long following the elimination strategy, which has made us fear the virus and have little tolerance for it.
This column is not criticising that strategy, which has served us well when Covid-19 first showed its face in this country. Rather, it's about recognising the difficulty many people are having with adjusting to a drastically different position on the virus.
It would have come as quite a shock to many when the Prime Minister made it clear at the beginning of the year we could soon expect thousands of cases a day with a new variant called Omicron knocking on our door.
Our relationship with the elimination strategy was already over at that point. But for anyone who was still clinging to hope, Jacinda Ardern's words were a very definitive answer.
If you live outside of Auckland, Omicron is the first time we've experienced the virus really rearing its head in our communities.
I've had conversations with friends and family who are apprehensive about our borders reopening and the freedoms we do have under the red traffic light setting when there are more cases in the country than ever before.
I have reminded them of the important difference between the beginning of 2020 and now, which is that we have had the opportunity to be vaccinated.
But I also understand that just because we're less likely to die or suffer long-term effects from Covid doesn't mean we want to get it either. At the end of the day it's still a nasty virus.
Georgina Campbell is a senior reporter at the New Zealand Herald. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Two weekends ago (on my mission to live as much as possible) I caught up with a group of friends, two of whom soon after developed symptoms and tested positive for the virus.
I sat directly across from one of them for more than three hours. We were drinking and laughing - so many droplets! I felt sure this was it, I was going to get a sore throat any day.
I started feeling regretful about seeing them as I was tired after a day in the sun anyway and would have been just as happy with a night on the couch watching Sex and the City.
As the days dragged on, I have never thought so much in my life about how my throat felt.
Was I hungover or was this slightly sluggish feeling a Covid-19 symptom?
It just so happened I never got any symptoms and I did a rapid antigen test to be on the safe side, which came back negative.
So, I don't mind admitting that I wasn't completely cool, calm, and collected when I had my close brush with Covid.
Everybody has a different tolerance for risk and there are lots of things you can do to still live your life and support the place you live in, whether it be Wellington or somewhere else.
For example, one of my friends is trying to catch up with people and socialise in outdoor locations. So, takeaway coffees, meeting at venues with outdoor seating, that sort of thing.
I've come to the conclusion that since I am already having to work from home, my risk profile is lowered anyway. I feel okay with being out and about after work and at the weekend.
It's tempting to go into a mini lockdown of your own making, but try to resist the urge.
Like many relationships, our relationship with the elimination strategy did not last the distance and a clean break is almost always best.
We're living with Covid now.
• Senior Wellington journalist Georgina Campbell's fortnightly column looks closely at issues in the capital.
