Covirus 19 coronavirus: revealed the winners and losers of level 2; Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern talks about the “hardest” part of the crisis

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There will be winners and losers when Kiwis wake up on Thursday morning at Alert Level 2, as the Prime Minister reveals the “most difficult” aspect of the Government’s Covid response.

Cafes, restaurants, tour operators, sports clubs, libraries, cinemas and gyms can open their doors in 48 hours.

But bars that do not serve food will have to be closed for 10 days and with meetings limited to 10 people or less, tangi and funerals will remain restricted.

The Tourism Industry Association says the additional week of restrictions for bars could spell the end of some establishments, while the Association of Funeral Directors has criticized the rules as “both cruel and without compassion.”

Ardern and his cabinet decided yesterday that Covid-19 was under control enough to move the country to alert Level 2 at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.

But his warnings about the need to maintain adequate health and safety standards have been confirmed by the situation in China and South Korea, where cases are on the rise again.

Both countries have reported further increases in coronavirus cases as both countries have eased their blocking measures.

“The nation is at risk,” Park Won-soon, the mayor of South Korea’s capital Seoul, said Monday, warning that the next few days will be “critical” in preventing the spread of a virus from a linked group of cases. to several of the nightclubs and bars in the city.

A total of 86 new infections have been reported so far in the new outbreak, as officials are quick to track thousands of people who may have come into contact with a 29-year-old man who visited the sites before testing positive for Covid-19.

Back in New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern spoke to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking on Tuesday morning, revealing that the most difficult aspect of the Covid crisis was making decisions around loved ones who were seeing dying family members.

After a court case, in which a son was allowed to see his dying father, the Health Ministry has been reviewing 32 cases in which families were denied access. So far, five rejections have been revoked.

“I would have hoped that the established criteria would have been applied with the greatest possible compassion,” Ardern told Hosking.

Health officials, he said, were doing exceptional work in difficult circumstances and wanted to make sure there was no double tragedy. The relatives had returned from abroad and needed to be quarantined.

“It has been the hardest part of Covid. You are dealing with pain, death, but also the highest risk groups.”

Ardern also told Hosking that an email written by one of her staff members and leaked to the media had used language she would not have used.

The email, sent last Friday, said ministers should not respond to the media or answer questions directly about the big post and the details contained in hundreds of official Covid documents.

The email has been criticized by several political commentators as cynical and arrogant.

“I wouldn’t have used the language in that email. A staff member wrote the email. I never saw it. I never closed it.”

Meanwhile, students and children can return to school next Monday, and bars that don’t serve food can open on Thursday of next week, as long as they can seat and drive customers away.

Domestic travel will also be back online soon, providing a lifeline to the tourism industry that has already seen the loss of thousands of jobs.

Yesterday there were only three new cases: one was a traveler who returned abroad and two were nurses from Waitakere Hospital who treated cases from St Margaret’s Rest Home in Auckland.

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The nurses were asymptomatic and their infections were caught in the staff assessment process before returning to work after being identified as a confirmed case contact.

Ardern, as he noted earlier, said the Level 2 aspects will be phased in to ensure that life at Level 3 has not caused undetected outbreaks “and feels safer” on the move. The bars had been deemed “too risky” to open this week.

Director-General for Health Ashley Bloomfield said the outbreaks could trigger a return to Level 3, but that regional measures could be taken to prevent an outbreak.

Moving to level 2 also carries great responsibilities for kiwis to take control in their own clean hands. The golden rules of level 2 are:

• Anyone with a cold must stay home. Don’t go to work or school. Don’t socialize This should be a very low bar.

• Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Do it properly.

• Keep your distance from strangers in public, especially on public transportation.

• Don’t socialize with more than 10 people at once.

• Keep track of where you have been and who you have seen.

“Overall, however, the result is that within 10 days we will have reopened most companies in New Zealand, and sooner than in many other countries around the world.”

But it would be a new normal, Ardern said.

For those who feel like going to a cafe or restaurant, there will be a two-hour limit on seating, but that rule will be flexible if necessary.

Each meeting, whether at home or in public, will be limited to 10 people or less for at least two weeks, so if something goes wrong, it’s easy to contact the trace, Ardern said.

“So go see your mother, just don’t make it into a massive family reunion while you’re at it,” said Ardern.

And that would mean more sacrifices for people who had lost loved ones during the blockade and alert level 3. Their suffering was a “tough consideration,” but the 10-person limit was a balanced decision on health advice, he said. Ardern.

“This, along with social distancing, is our insurance policy.”

Association Funeral Directors President Gary Taylor said meeting limits meant another two weeks before bereaved families could have meaningful service.

Taylor said they had been led to believe that Level 2 would allow gatherings for up to 100 people, as the government had previously pointed out, and had worked on how to handle funerals and tangi safely.

“This is a cruel and ruthless blow to the thousands of New Zealand families who have lost loved ones and it is unjustifiable.”

But for most of New Zealand, the move to level 2 will be a welcome return to a new normal with most sectors supporting the movement.

Monique Jarvis, co-owner of the Dalston clothing store at Auckland’s Gray Lynn, said that being able to reopen was finally “very exciting.”

The store will have some new procedures, such as a one-on-one policy and a check-in at your door, and Jarvis said they had been consulting with other stores to ensure they could operate safely for both their customers. and personal.

“We are really looking forward to getting back into business and excited to get going with the new standard and see how people feel about finally going out and buying.”

Opposition leader Simon Bridges welcomed the move to level 2 and said it was something the National Party had been asking for.

“New Zealand is ready to return to normality, and from the Government to the Opposition, Parliament’s attention now really has to focus on how we can save jobs and get New Zealand back to work.”

Law enforcement leader David Seymour said alert level 2 should have happened earlier and yesterday’s decision will be particularly tough on bars.

“The broader uncertainty about rules for all kinds of companies means they can be open, but not profitable.”

The Tourism Industry Association also said that the decision to keep the bars closed for a week longer than the restaurants could mean the disappearance of some establishments.

Association executive director Chris Roberts said many tourism, hospitality and event companies were teetering on the edge, especially in light of SkyCity announcing yesterday that it would cut another 700 jobs in addition to the 200 it cut last month.

“In current circumstances, even a week or two behind schedule will push the cliff a bit and result in more job losses and business closings,” said Roberts.