A vendor at this weekend’s Pasifika Festival says the last-minute cancellation of the event is “disgusting”.
Tanya Savage had come from Rarotonga to sell her products at the festival and learned today that the Auckland Council would be cancelling the event due to the global outbreak of Covid-19.
“To be told the day before the Pasifika Festival is quite devastating. Actually devastating. Shameful too,” she told 1 NEWS.
“To be told basically the day before is just unfair on the vendors taking part.
“Surely, they could have notified everyone earlier on in the week or at least three days, not the day before.”
Ms Savage says all vendors are aware of the seriousness of the Covid-19 outbreak but says the council could have made a decision earlier.
She says it’s cost her thousands of dollars for flights and the items she was to sell at the festival.
“It’s just unfair.”
The Pacific Business Hub in South Auckland is opening its doors for the vendors of the festival to sell their products over the weekend.
“We are aware of the outbreak of the news disease called Covid-19,” the Pacific Business Hub said in a statement this afternoon.
“With continued vigilance the chance of widespread community outbreak is expected to remain low.
“With that in mind the Pacific Business Hub will open up its premises to hold a Pasifika Pop-Up Market to allow our communities the opportunity to have stalls.”
They have advised those showing any symptoms of a cold or flu to not attend the pop-up market this weekend.
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