There will be no school holiday ski-trips or whānau visits for Aucklanders across the regional Covid-19 border, with the Prime Minister's confirmation that the city will remain shut-off from the rest of the country regardless of a drop in alert levels.
The hard border also means no one coming into the city for the school holiday, killing any hopes of increased foot traffic in the CBD, as Auckland counts down to the busy pre-Christmas season.
Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck joins Lisa Owen with her reaction.
Beck says there’ll be a lot of disappointment around news the regional border is staying in place.
She has asked government about financial support for Auckland businesses when the move to level 2 comes. She told Checkpoint the wage subsidy should be extended for level 2 in Auckland, and the resurgence payment should be weekly.
Level 3 has made very little difference in the CBD, she said. It’s still about 90 percent down in consumer spending, Beck said.
