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from Issue 751
A summary of major local news stories by Paul Taylor
Queenstown’s schools reopened yesterday morning as the town settles into life at Alert Level 2
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced last Monday that the majority of businesses could reopen from midnight on Wednesday, May 13, and people could move about relatively freely again after a seven-week lockdown.
Bars that don’t serve food won’t be able to open until this Thursday, however, to limit the chances of a second outbreak of Covid-19.
By midday Thursday, Queenstowners were back at the shops, hairdressers, restaurants, gyms and playground, while hundreds milled around downtown and traffic returned to the roads. District mayor Jim Boult had celebrated the reopening of domestic tourism with a dawn bungy jump from AJ Hackett’s historic bungy bridge at Gibbston that morning.
Hours later, the first turboprop Air New Zealand plane landed at Queenstown Airport from Christchurch - 43 days after the last scheduled flight. The first jet, Air New Zealand flight NZ1209 from Auckland from Auckland, touched down on Saturday afternoon, carrying 100 passengers.
Airport boss Colin Keel and Air New Zealand’s Head of Tourism and Regional Affairs Reuben Levermore were delighted flights were landing and departing from Queenstown again.
“We feel the pain that the tourism industry is going through at present, and the best thing we can do is to help get the country moving again,” Levermore says.
“While we aren’t yet in a position to offer as many seats as we’d like, we will be building back our schedule in response to demand, and continuing to work alongside our partners in Queenstown and the wider region including Queenstown Airport, regional tourism organisations, and chambers of commerce to support winter tourism and the broader economic recovery.”
Economic recovery was the major thrust of Thursday’s $50 billion Budget 2020, but it was criticised by many in the tourism industry and Queenstown Chamber of Commerce boss Anna Mickell for not providing enough help for businesses exposed by the lack of international tourist arrivals.
At the weekend, thousands of Queenstown’s took the opportunity to get out in the sun and support local businesses, such as KJet, which ran a half-price special for locals, and Paddle Queenstown, which hired out its kayaks, paddleboards and Aquabikes at Queenstown beach for a gold coin donation.
However, keen local and domestic support won’t be enough to protect Queenstown’s many businesses and their staff. As such, Boult and deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters separately urged temporary migrants to consider a return to their homelands.
While Alert Level two is a returning to a much more normal life, there are still restrictions and in Monday’s address Ardern told New Zealanders to remember the golden rules: • Keep your distance from other people when you are out in public, including on transport. • If you’re sick, stay home. Don’t go to work or school. Don’t socialise. This should be a really low bar. • If you have symptoms of cold or flu call your doctor or Healthline immediately and get tested. • Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Do it properly. • Don’t get together socially or mix and mingle with more than 10 people at once. • And keep a track of where you’ve been and who you’ve seen.
Staycation? One night package only $195 Fancy a
