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The badly affected hotel industry could see a strong revival with approximately 1.8 million visits to cafes when the closure is lifted, according to a consumer confidence survey.
Spending on fast food, coffee shops, gasoline, garden centers and hardware stores is expected to increase in the first six months of the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions.
Horizon Research’s survey of 1,267 people said 72 percent of respondents were confident that Covid-19 could be contained, and widespread community broadcast was avoided.
The government provided further details on how New Zealand will drop to a Covid-19 alert level on Thursday, although Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned that no decision has been made on whether to abandon the blockade. An update is expected at 4pm on Monday.
On Friday, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said New Zealand could abandon the blockade and enter Covid-19 alert level 3 for at least two weeks.
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Spending on fast food, coffee shops, gasoline, garden centers and hardware stores is expected to increase in the first six months of the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions.
The survey, conducted between April 8 and 14, found that the number of people using service stations would drop from 43% to 82%, or about 2.9 million people in the first six months of relief from restrictions.
Horizon weighted the survey by age, gender, employment status, education level and income to ensure that its sample was representative of New Zealand’s adult population at the time of the 2018 census. The survey had a maximum margin of error of 2, 8%.
Mail and postal services will experience some of the biggest increases in the first six months as blocking restrictions are eased.
The number of adults who send non-essential and non-commercial courier items will increase from 7% to 43% or 1.5 million people.
People who shop at hardware stores will jump from 4 percent during closing to 52 percent, or roughly 1.8 million shoppers.
Tourism and related businesses will enjoy a reboot, with more than a million adults intending to take national vacations and road trips.
JOHN BISSET / THINGS
People using service stations will go from 43% to 82% or about 2.9 million people in the first six months of easing restrictions.
While New Zealanders intend to return to a new normal after the alert level 4 closes, they also strongly support most of those who must stay home in an effort to contain and eliminate the Covid-19 threat, according to the poll.
It also found that 95 percent of adults were complying with blocking restrictions. Another 4 percent of respondents were essential workers, leaving only 1 percent (about 39,500 adults) saying they were definitely not complying.
In March, in the first days of the confinement, 75 percent thought that they, their home, and their families would cope well with the confinement.
But after two weeks of the shutdown, 95 percent said their home and families were coping well with the shutdown.
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The heavily affected hotel industry could see a strong revival with approximately 1.8 million visitors waiting to visit cafes.
However, in the latest survey, 7 percent did not do well, which equates to about 237,300 adults, and approximately 61,100 did not do well at all.
LEVEL 3 ALERT
If the country enters alert level 3, people will be allowed to expand their contacts to include close family members, a caregiver, children in shared care, or a domestic partner.
Construction and forestry companies will be able to resume work, as can other companies that can maintain physical distance requirements. Workers will be asked to work from home when possible.
Cafes and bars, which deal with customers face to face, will not open. If companies can deal with customers in a “contactless” way, they will be allowed to open, including retail stores, hardware stores, and restaurants.
Early childhood centers and schools will partially reopen, only for children up to 10 years old. Attendance will be voluntary, which means that families who want to keep their children at home can do so.
People will be able to travel within a region as needed, and movement between regions will be restricted.
Low-risk activities will be allowed as long as they are not motorized, meaning there will be no sailing, but swimmers and surfers can return to the ocean.
Funerals, tangihanga, and weddings attended by no more than ten people will be considered acceptable, but meals or receptions cannot be held.
“The principle here is that it’s ideal that you still keep your contact with other people very, very limited,” Ardern said Thursday.
