Passports to freedom, frustration

People were scanning their vaccine passes with few problems at hospitality venues in Nelson as the new Covid-19 framework came into play.

Anthony Stevens, who owns the Red Gallery Cafe and design shop, spent yesterday morning scanning vaccine passes and said things had gone smoothly.

‘‘The biggest stumbling block has been people finding the app on their phone but, other than that, everyone knows the deal,’’ he said. There had been no complaints so far.

One customer who had been scanned in said it made her feel safer to see the desk at the door, as it showed her the business was taking Covid-19 seriously.

Stevens said a major issue for him as a small business was the hidden extra cost of having a staff member to scan the passes. But with fines imposed for not following the vaccine pass rules, there was a financial hit either way.

‘‘For a small business, that costs about $1000 a week to do that – just to scan people in.’’

Summer Kim, a manager and chef at Kimchi & Wasabi, said there had been some frustration, especially from regular customers, over the pass system. ‘‘[Some regulars] said, ‘I really hate this passport but it’s not your fault.’ Everyone is really understanding.’’

She said it wasn’t clear if it was an effect of the vaccine pass requirement or people’s hesitancy over the rules but business had been quieter than normal.

‘‘We had a message up online telling people we would need to see vaccine passes on Friday, and we had people asking us by email, phone, text or Facebook Messenger saying ‘Are you really asking for that?’ And we said, ‘Unfortunately, yes – we have to.’’’

Kimchi & Wasabi would be setting up a contactless payment terminal outside where people could pick up takeaways without having to enter the shop. This was expected to be up and running next week.