Some South Island businesses are questioning the logic of staying at COVID-19 alert level 3, having no community cases detected amid the Delta outbreak.
That particularly applies on the West Coast, where many are facing closing their doors for good. The South Island has 22 people still in self-isolation - with 15 of them awaiting the crucial day 12 COVID-19 test result.
Whitebaiting season has begun on the West Coast but it's by no means a fresh start for a region caught up in level 3 restrictions.
"I've got to explain to people every day how after 301 days of no COVID transmission in the community we're in lockdown," Westland District Mayor Bruce Smith said. "I'm struggling - really struggling."
Franz Josef's Logan Skinner owns the local campground. Pre COVID-19, business was good.
Domestic travel brought in just 2 percent of his pre-COVID business - now that's come to an abrupt end too.
"Lockdown has just killed the trickle of Kiwis coming through and the experience of [the] last lockdown is it takes quite a while to rebuild that confidence," Skinner said. "It's great Aucklanders and North Islanders come down here - they've had a ball but for people to have the confidence to travel again it's going to take quite a few months I'd say."
They're not alone - towns right along the coast are doing it tough in level 3.
"The West coast at the moment - it's really in dire straights in that hospitality and tourism sector particularly in south Westland," Development West Coast chief executive Heath Milne said. "I think pre the current COVID outbreak things were already dire with the end of the Australian bubble and it's only got worse since."
Some are now weighing up if it's worth waiting it out.
"A lot of people are considering leaving town, myself included but if there's not an end in sight for when we're going to get fully reopened to the borders... it's hard to stay here," Skinner said.
