A King Country mayor says his town is an example of what's to come for the rest of the country, in adapting to Covid-19.
Ōtorohanga Mayor Max Baxter expects his town will cope well with having a relatively high number of Covid-19 cases. Photo: SUPPLIED/ KCN
Ōtorohanga District has around 40 active cases in a population of only 10,000 people - yet has returned to alert level 2.
Mayor Max Baxter said his district is evidence that the government has changed tack and the country now must learn to live with the virus.
"We are a bit of a case study in Ōtorohanga, we've got a high number of cases currently. Let's just hope that if we follow safe practices as we've come to experience with Covid, we'll get through this fine," he said.
Baxter said when comparing population size to infection levels, he is surprised they eased restrictions.
"On a per capita basis, it's really high. So, for us changing to level 2, there is a wee bit of nervous apprehension about the change in alert levels," he said.
At Ōtorohanga College senior students are already off for exams, but years 9 and 10 will return to school on Monday.
Principal Traci Liddall said the school community had felt the effects of the virus during the outbreak - three students fell ill with Covid-19 after sharing a vape.
She said the virus was at front of mind.
"It's always a concern and we do have some vulnerable people in our community and in our school, but the other side of that is that the school staff are 100 percent vaccinated, so we're careful, but we're not scared," she said.
Liddall said she expected Covid-19 would become part of everyday life, and is pleased the community was now taking the virus more seriously.
"There was sort of a feeling of being a little bit bulletproof with us out here in the provinces, but in the last couple of weeks with quite a spike in the community and everybody knowing somebody affected, it has changed attitudes," she said.
Baxter said there has been a shift in mindset among residents, with the majority taking the situation seriously.
"There's always going to be a small element in your community that doesn't, but by and large absolutely," he said.
Across the Waikato there are seven pop-up and dedicated testing centres operating at Hamilton, Ōtorohanga, Huntly, Ngāruawāhia, and Te Kuiti.
