Auckland's Papatoetoe Covid cluster has dented business confidence, and taken a massive slice out of businesses' bottom lines.
New figures from Paymark show the main five days of the outbreak have cost retailers about $50 million dollars.
Most of that lost spending was in Auckland, where Alert Level Three restrictions forced all cafes, restaurants and other non-essential businesses to close.
Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Michael Barnett told Kate Hawkesby many business people were feeling upbeat until the lockdown struck.
He says they started the year feeling confident and ready for a new start, but the lockdown has knocked them back.
Papatoetoe High School will undergo a deep clean today, and contact tracing and testing is continuing.
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