PHOTO: TRACEY ROXBURGHCOVID-19 continues to pinch in Queenstown, and there has been no let-up in those seeking aid from the local council. The number of requests for welfare support from the Queenstown-Lakes District Council has exceeded 10,000, and more than $500,000 worth of food vouchers have distributed to people in need. Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) local controller Meaghan Miller said about a quarter of requests were from New Zealanders; the rest were from migrants, most of whom had lost work in the resort when the country went into lockdown in March. The emergency operations centre was convened in Alert Level 2 before lockdown and those involved were focused on logistics, operations, welfare, planning and intelligence in an emergency. The full-time emergency management officer had left just before the virus outbreak and the council had been in the middle of recruiting a replacement.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 29, 2020 16:30 UTC