Coronavirus: Burger joint failed to meet social distancing obligations, PM says
Wednesday, 29 April 2020
Failing to make sure its customers maintained social distancing meant BurgerFuel failed to fulfil its obligations, the prime minister says.
On Tuesday evening, large crowds of people were seen standing outside BurgerFuel in Glenfield, Auckland, with some in close proximity to each other, on the first day of Covid-19 alert level three.
Police confirmed officers attended the scene - as people weren't adhering to social distancing requirements.
BurgerFuel said its stores were 'inundated with a stampede of customers', way beyond what it had anticipated.
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At a press conference on Wednesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had seen photos of people waiting outside the Glenfield store.
She said officials had been in contact with the company as on Tuesday night, as it 'certainly' hadn't fulfilled its social distancing obligations.
Dan Arakawa, who posted images of the crowd online, shared his own disappointment.
On social media, Arakawa said he couldn't understand why people were standing so close to each other when social distancing was still a requirement in level 3.
'We can do this better and hope this will get sorted.'
One person who saw the image shared online said it left her 'literally speechless'.
'Those of us who work in the health sector have been working so hard to avoid the devastation seen overseas and this just breaks my heart.'
North Shore man James, who didn't want his last name used, said he made an online order for pick up at the Glenfield store at 5.30pm.
By the time he arrived, 'it was madness', he said.
At least 10 people were already waiting for their orders and a BurgerFuel worker was standing in a window next to a busy bus stop.
James said the staff weren't very loud and it was difficult to know what was going on if standing far away.
By the time his order was ready at 5.45pm, at least 40 people were standing around, James said.
He said he didn't see any markings on the ground to show where people should stand - and the surrounding footpath was not big enough to allow social distancing.
Pick up times needed to be spaced out more to make sure crowds weren't waiting, he said.
A BurgerFuel spokeswoman said staff are navigating new procedures such as strict hygiene protocols, physical distancing guidelines and contactless food preparation.
'This, combined with major volumes of orders following five weeks of no operation, resulted in some stores struggling to control crowds at peak collection times.
'Today we are working hard on a number of improvements to ensure the wellbeing of our customers and staff.'
This included limiting online orders to ensure food production and queues are manageable, and all stores requiring a crowd controlled at the store front at all times. This will help to reinforce distancing between customers.
Mayor Phil Goff slammed the lack of social distancing after seeing images of people congregating as they picked up takeaways and visited parks or beaches.
Goff said whether intentional or not, it would hinder the work everyone had put in so far.
'Aucklanders have done a really good job at level 4 and that has meant we have saved lives. We must continue to do that,' he said.
'The prime minister has said repeatedly that we need to continue to be vigilant and we cannot slip back into our pre-lockdown habits. I know this is hard, especially after more than a month of being in level 4, but we need to keep going for a little while longer.'
A police spokeswoman said police educated the 'large group' at the Glenfield store about how to ensure a better and safer process.
'We just remind people to ensure they continue to keep a good distance from other members of our community and also understand that there may be queues to get your favourite takeaway so please continue to have patience.'
Overall, the spokeswoman said police across Auckland were 'really happy' with people's behaviour on Tuesday with the reopening of fast food outlets and other eateries.