Illustration by – Vritti Parasher
I am sure there will thousands like me who will be trying to figure out what can they do and what they can’t in step-2 of level-3 in Auckland. These steps are utterly confusing and, in most cases, make no sense to a lay person. Now retails can open but dining is not allowed, a visit to a dentist is okay but you can’t have a haircut, a gathering of up to 25+5 is okay at weddings or tangihanga but you can’t meet a friend inside your house, outdoor organised exercise classes can be held with up to 25 people, but place of faith are still not allowed to open. Does this make some sense to anyone?
Even funnier change is that since the Auckland borders are closed so you can’t travel outside of Auckland even though the town you want to visit is exactly at same level as us. Inside a mall, an unvaccinated person can go to any shop along with you even though you thought you were a smart Alec to get fully vaccinated. Did the officials making these silly rules ever thought of why two fully vaccinated people or families can not meet inside their houses? Think of something like you can go to a restaurant to do a takeaway but cannot dine there. It’s different story that invariably at every popular joint there are long queues of people waiting for their turn. There are some more bewilderments like these under the new rules if we want to keep writing about it.
Can the government have a relook at the restrictions eased under step-2 to make it more pragmatic and meaningful. People world over are now sick and tired of these restrictions and hence you see those protest marches against lockdowns and now even against vaccination. No country in the world can ever be 100% fully vaccinated. There will always be some people in every community who will resist and oppose anything and everything even if it’s for their own good. Just free up the country once we attain 90% full vaccination. Those who do not want to understand the benefits of getting vaccination, you just can’t make them understand. Let some people learn from their own mistakes. – Yugal Parashar
