People in South Waikato say their tight-knit community helped them through lockdown and will continue to do so in uncertain times.
South Waikato Pacific Island Community Services chief executive Akarere Henry. Photo: RNZ / Andrew McRae
The district went into alert level 2 on Wednesday along with the rest of the country, except Auckland.
Tokoroa became a place of interest at one stage when a person with the Delta variant of Covid-19, stopped off to buy petrol in the town while travelling from Auckland to Wellington.
About 25,000 people live in the South Waikato District: 35 percent Māori, 12 percent Pasififa and 68 percent European.
All groups have been working together on Covid-19 testing and vaccinations and supporting those in need during the lockdown.
South Waikato Pacific Island Community Services chief executive Akarere Henry has been overseeing the vaccinations at the local sports and rec centre.
She believed the community responded well to lockdown.
"Some of our community still continues to be challenged and pressured and that is not necessarily as a result of lockdown or Covid. It's sometimes the life they have had to contend with prior to this, so we know that there are still areas of our community that we want to reach out to even more so."
She said returning to level 2 gave her organisation a better chance of supporting families in need.
"One of the things we are mindful of is the heightened levels of anxiety within our community. When the things that they take for granted, when the things that are normal for them are taken away without a choice for them. I know from our own experiences working with our families that mental health is a key issue."
Pacific Island Community Services has been working closely with local iwi, Ngāti Raukawa.
Raukawa Charitable Trust tumu whakarae Maria Te Kanawa said lessons were learned from last year's lockdown.
"The cohesion and collaboration was far easier this time around, so although the impacts are still worrying and concerning, it didn't really throw up anything that shocked or surprised us."
Te Kanawa said kaumatua were still anxious even in level 2.
"A lot of them didn't come out of lockdown or come out of their homes until well and truly into level 1, so they still have high levels of concern around getting out and about back in public, but they would love to, because they love that social element, but it's that health risk that has them remain at home."
Maria Te Kanawa. Photo: RNZ / Andrew McRae
She said the impacts on whānau of Covid-19 and the lockdown caried on far past the actual lockdown period.
"For Māori and Pacific Island whānau in particular, any disruptions to employment, to whānau income, to education of the rangitahi, really have long-lasting effects on the whānau and we take much longer to recover from that."
Larry Morrisey has run a menswear shop in Tokoroa for 40 years.
He said lockdowns 3 and 4 had been hard with only some online sales to keep the business going.
"Doing some raw Facebook deals each day just trying to tick over a little bit of cash and I would deliver to letterboxes every night."
He said retailers in town had worked together to promote business and encourage people to buy local.
Morrisey said the lack of population in a small town was a drawback.
He said he was staunch about keeping his staff employed during lockdown.
"We needed staff on board and they are all experienced and we kept them and made sure they were looked after."
Lawyer and district councillor Arama Ngapo said in times of need the multicultural community always banded together.
"Because we are on State Highway One we have a lot of traffic going past our communities so that makes Covid testing vital and we need to get our vaccination [rates] as high as possible.
"South Waikato is an extremely resilient community," she said.
Arama Ngapo. Photo: RNZ / Andrew McRae
"We have issues like every other community in New Zealand, but we are positive we are going to come out of this and come out stronger because we always and together."
South Waikato Mayor Jenny Shattock said lockdown had been tough, but she believed for the most part her community had coped well.
She worried about some businesses in Tokoroa.
"I think that there might be some casualties unfortunately this time. Last time lockdown I did know that some businesses actually put their own personal money into their businesses to keep them going. I don't think they had that buffer this time."
She said businesses got together and did a shop local campaign with $10,000 in prizes, which kept some shops going and put life back into the town during lockdown.
South Waikato Mayor Jenny Shattock. Photo: RNZ / Andrew McRae
Shattock was pleased with the number of locals getting vaccinated and encouraged anyone who had not, to get one quickly.
"We as a community have to be extra vigilant at times like this and I am pleased under level 2 people are out and about wearing masks."
A new community vaccination centre opens in central Tokoroa on Monday.
