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Lucy Xia / Things
Sich Seafood Restaurant is a new restaurant opened in January that has had “almost no customers” after two cases of Covid-19 in the Auckland community.
A company visited by Auckland’s last two Covid-19 community cases says it is suffering financially after customers have not returned.
Ōrewa’s father and daughter and a Northland woman tested positive for the virus after leaving the isolation facility run by Pullman Hotel two weeks ago.
The couple visited BBQ King in Albany several times, and the restaurant and others nearby said they had struggled to attract diners since.
A Stuff The reporter who spoke to neighboring businesses on Tuesday said the area was “like a ghost town.”
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Amy Li, owner of BBQ King, said the restaurant reopened on February 2, 14 days after the two cases visited.
Tuesday was the “worst day” for business in its history, with just three tables of customers and a takeout order at 9:30 pm.
Seafood restaurant Sich, which opened in early January, said it had had “almost no customers” since Wednesday.
“My business has just started, we don’t have old clients to support us,” said the owner. He has been a chef for 30 years.
Lucy Xia / Things
Zhang Yang, owner of Little Sheep Hotpot, had to reduce the staff from five to three.
BBQ King and Sich Seafood Restaurant share the same address and the owner said that when people see the address “they are afraid to come.”
Little Sheep Hotpot, located across from BBQ King, said it had seen a 90 percent reduction in business between last Thursday and last long weekend.
Owner Zhang Yang said he had to reduce the staffing from five to three due to a lack of demand, with Yang being the only person taking orders and cleaning tables.
24 # The bakery closed for two days for a deep cleaning, and the custom was estimated to have dropped by 30 percent, while Mr Ox Seafood restaurant said it had seen a 70 percent drop in business since the week last, no customers for dinner on Tuesday night.
On the other hand, Lone Star Albany said it was doing better than the others, but the business over the long weekend was about half what it usually gets.
Epidemiologist Nick Wilson said “it doesn’t make sense for people not to visit” these businesses.
Lucy Xia / Things
The owner of 24 # Bakery said the business fell 30 percent after news of the Covid-19 cases in the community.
“The risk [of transmission] it is extremely low and only applies after a few hours of visiting, ”he said.
Wilson said that while it was possible to contract Covid-19 from surfaces, there were no documented cases of it happening.
“There is no data on anyone infected by surfaces,” he said.
He said that confined spaces present a higher risk of COVID-19 transmission than outdoor spaces.
“Super spreader events are often caused by tight spaces.”
According to contact tracing details from the Health Ministry, BBQ King was visited by the two community cases on January 17 between 11 a.m. M. And 5 p.m. M. A 9 p. M., On January 18 between 12:30 p.m. M. And 5 p.m. M. A 9 p. M., On January 16 between 5 p.m. , and on January 15 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Chris McKeen / Stuff
A queue for an emerging Covid-19 testing station stretches around the block following news of two community cases in Auckland’s Ōrewa.
But owner Amy Li questions the number of visits posted by the ministry.
She has verified CCTV and receipts with police and believes the restaurant was only visited on January 17 between 1:14 pm and 1:56 pm.
Li said he feels that the ministry’s “incorrect information” has drawn unwanted attention to his business and is damaging his reputation.
Lucy Xia / Things
The businesses surrounding BBQ King, which were visited multiple times by the cases, have been negatively affected since.
“They don’t care if [our business] live or die, ”he said.
A spokesman for the Health Ministry said the visitation times on January 16 and 18 are based on the couple’s memories of the case.
While she wasn’t “100 percent” sure BBQ King had been visited all those days, a cautious approach was being taken, the spokesperson said.
All BBQ King staff asked to be tested after the cases visited returned negative Covid-19 test results.
