An optometrist is pleading to be allowed to assist those who have broken their glasses during the lockdown.
Since the lockdown was imposed three weeks ago, only businesses and services deemed essential have been allowed to operate.
According to the Ministry of Health as well as the New Zealand Association of Optometrists, emergency and acute optometry care services can go ahead, but optometrist Michael Holmes - who has 35 years of experience in private practice - told Newshub he wants to be able to help those with poor eyesight whose glasses may have broken under alert level 4.
"We've been contacted by people who have broken their glasses under lockdown. One of them actually just happened before the lockdown and we have been unable to provide them with glasses during the period of the lockdown," he said.
"There would be a group of people that wouldn't be able to drive without their glasses, who can't access services they need to be able to access."
Holmes' wife and practice manager Kay McFarlane says in strict circumstances essential workers' glasses can be repaired, but with lens labs not open, that's often not possible.
She is aware of at least four non-essential workers in "serious circumstances" and with glasses desperately in need of a repair. She's concerned there may be people living alone and unable to drive themselves to essential services like the supermarket.
"We completely understand that we can't run a business - no one can run a business in a normal way, we aren't asking that, we are not expecting that. But when people have very severe eyesight problems and they have broken their glasses, which has been happening I think possibly a little bit more because people are doing more gardening work and work around their house and accidents happen, we need to be able to help these people," she told Newshub.
"We know if we do go into help people it has to be under the strictest of conditions with full PPE, following the Ministry of Health's guidelines, one person in at a time. We are certainly not asking to be able to market glasses sales or even sell them to people… what we are asking to be able to do is actually help those people who are glass wearers who can't manage their daily lives without them and have broken them."
With online learning beginning again on Wednesday, McFarlane said there is bound to be children who have broken their glasses struggling.
A decision will be made on Monday on whether New Zealand comes out of lockdown and goes into level 3, which will still have tough restrictions. However, it's understood more businesses will be allowed to open, but only if they implement measures to keep staff and clients safe. The current alert system framework says that under alert level 3 "some non-essential businesses should close".
Details of what alert level 3 will look like will be released on Thursday afternoon.
