A glimmer of light…
Wednesday 10th November and suddenly, for a number of retail businesses, a little light at the end of the tunnel!
I went into Warkworth town yesterday, as I do most days, to walk about and chat to those that are open and the sun was shining. There wasn’t a lot of parking around town and the main topic of conversation was about how good it was to see shops open! It was a nice and positive topic change from Covid.
The shops that I spoke to said it was steady rather than frantically busy which was seen as a good thing. As they get their systems and staff back in place, sometimes it is better to start slower rather than leap out of the blocks straight away.
What I really enjoyed seeing were the smiles on people’s faces, not just the retailers but people in the street. I realise that with summer here and the sun shining, people tend to be happier but there was a feeling that perhaps that light at the end of the tunnel wasn’t just another Covid train hurtling towards us. Maybe we were finally getting closer to the end of the tunnel after all!
I checked the vaccination rates while writing this and over all of the Auckland DHB’s we were sitting at 92% first vaccines and 84% fully vaccinated which means we are getting really close to the 90%. This will get us out of the tunnel and into the light where all businesses can reopen and that has to be a good thing for everybody.
I want to thank those businesses that came back to me with how they were going to handle opening and possible vaccine passports. The general consensus was that it was a wait and see, with most wanting to insist on masks but not sure that they wanted to or could afford to turn away business. It is indeed a new and strange world we live in.
I would like to finish with a plea; no matter what your personal thoughts or opinions are on the vaccine please remember that the person in the business might not want to hear your opinion on it. Staff want to be able to serve you according to the rules set down for their business. So be kind, be gentle, wear a mask and remember, they are trying to do a job and supply you, the customer, to the best of their ability.
Don’t forget that tomorrow is “Local Friday”, a Mahurangi wide campaign to support local businesses. Instead of spending money on Black Friday use it to support our local businesses. After all, they are the ones who have been supporting us and our community for a long time.
Support Local, Buy Local, Employ Local, Love Local!
Murray Chapman
Manager, One Mahurangi Business Association
murray@dev.onemahurangi.co.nz
www.dev.onemahurangi.co.nz
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