As the nation adjusted to the new red traffic light system on Monday, retailers urged consumers against hoarding and academics urged consumers not to panic.
Retail NZ CEO Greg Harford said the retail industry had been preparing for the arrival of Omicron and asked people to “shop as normal” during the coming days and weeks.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared a move to a red setting under the new national safety protocols, effective at midnight on Sunday night. That meant the imposition of mask rules and limits of 100 people in bars and restaurants – or just 25 if venues are not using vaccine passes. Further lockdowns have been ruled out given that about 94 per cent of the country’s population aged over 12 is now fully vaccinated and about 56 per cent of those eligible have had booster shots.
The decision followed the discovery of a cluster of nine Omicron Covid-19 cases spread throughout the country traced back to a wedding in Auckland. Reuters reported that a family returned to Nelson by plane after attending the wedding and other events in Auckland. The family and a flight attendant tested positive.
Harford described retail stores as “relatively safe” through the use of masks and said Kiwis could still shop during the red traffic light setting.
“It is really important that customers and staff in retail stores are wearing masks when they are in-store, and have Vaccine Passes if asked for them in cafes and close contact services because this will help limit the spread of Omicron.
“Retail NZ is asking Kiwis to understand that, during an Omicron outbreak, service offerings from retailers could change. This could be through limited staffing numbers, limits to shop hours, and product supply issues. We are calling on kiwis to ‘Shop Normal, Shop Nice’ and support the sector with a lot of understanding.”
Professor Michael Plank, Te Pūnaha Matatini and the University of Canterbury, said moving to a red setting is not a lockdown “but it is a clear signal that extra caution is needed to reduce transmission”.
He warned people to be wary but not to overreact.
“We should remember that if you are up to date with your vaccinations the individual risk is very low. New Zealand is in a good position to manage the impacts of Omicron. We have high vaccination rates which drastically reduce the risk of severe illness, our efforts in controlling Delta mean the number of Covid patients currently in hospital is very low, and we have a head start on the booster rollout in some of our most vulnerable groups,” he said.
“There is more work still to be done, but we are in a vastly better position than we were last year before our population was vaccinated. We should be prepared for the likelihood that Omicron will infect large numbers of people, but our actions can make a big difference in reducing that number and relieving pressure on our healthcare system.
Plank, who is partly funded by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet for research on mathematical modelling of Covid-19, concluded: “Right now that means masking up, getting tested and staying home if you’re sick, and above all get boosted as soon as you can.”