COVID-19: What Delta Level 2 means for Hawke's Bay's council services and facilities
With confirmation that the country will move to Alert Level 2 from midnight tonight, the region's councils will be reopening most of its facilities in the coming days, within the Government’s revised Delta guidelines.
Under Alert Level 2 now a maximum of 100 people are allowed at outdoor events and venues, not including workers. Indoor venues are allowed a maximum of 50 people. Whether indoors or outdoors, employees and customers should wear face coverings.
People visiting public facilities such as libraries are now subject to the same physical distancing rules as retail outlets and supermarkets – keeping two metres from those outside your bubble.
Public health guidelines recommend wearing a face covering when you can’t keep your distance from others and are compulsory if using public transport or taking a flight. All businesses and services legally must follow public health guidelines.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said it was great that the efforts through the lockdown so far appeared to be working to allow the change in alert level, but urged people to continue to follow the government’s guidelines to stay safe.
“We are delighted to be reopening our facilities and that we can go out and support our local businesses. As the government has stressed, however, the Delta variant has prompted extra measures such as face mask and scanning requirements, and we ask our community to be patient and understanding," Hazlehurst said.
“Hopefully these continued efforts will mean we can look forward to our facilities and businesses being able to fully open in the not too distant future.”
At Level 2, the only facilities that remain closed are Toitoi – Hawke’s Bay Arts and Events Centre and the Havelock North i-Site. Hastings i-Site and Hastings library will reopen tomorrow morning, with Havelock North and Flaxmere libraries reopening on Thursday this week.
Hastings City Art Gallery, Flaxmere and Camberley Community Centres, the aquatic centres, and Hastings Sports Centre will reopen on Thursday. The Lyndon Road Customer Service Centre will be open tomorrow at its normal hours.
As the first rates instalment due on August 20 was while the country was in alert level 4 lockdown and people could not pay in person, Council has delayed applying the 10 per cent instalment penalty. These
will now be applied on September 16 to give those people who pay in-person time to be able to safely make payment.
Access to the customer service centre will be controlled to enable contract tracing and manage numbers on site.
Parks, reserves and playgrounds are open, and people are asked to follow physical distancing, practise good hygiene and stay at home if they are sick.
Rubbish and recycling kerbside collection services continue as normal, and Henderson Rd transfer station and the recycling stations at Henderson Rd and Blackbridge will open tomorrow, with people asked to follow the directions of staff, sign in, wear face coverings and maintain a two-metre distance from others.
Most Napier City Council services and facilities will be open under Alert Level 2.
Napier City Council says its playgrounds will need to be cleaned so it may take a couple of days for these all to reopen.
Recycling and green waste will be accepted at the Redclyffe transfer station but there are a few things to remember: contact tracing, social distancing and a face covering is required, and in order to manage demand, users are encouraged to come on their usual kerbside collection day.
Users of the dechlorinated water stations are advised to either take hand sanitiser with them to use immediately afterwards, or to wash their hands as soon as they return home because so many people use these facilities.
Due to the difficulty of maintaining this distance, there will be no keeper talks at the National Aquarium of NZ, and all “hands-on” exhibits will be “hands-off”.
To ensure the safety of all, MTG Hawke’s Bay will allow a maximum of 100 people at a time within its space, and the door linking it with the Napier Library will be locked to ensure there’s no mingling of
customers.
At Alert Level 2, the Faraday Centre is closed, and Napier Library will only be open from Mondays to Saturdays. The Napier i-SITE and Par2 MiniGolf will reopen at 1pm tomorrow.
Fees and time restrictions for public carparks will also resume at Alert Level 2.
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise encourages residents to get vaccinated, saying this is the best way to protect yourself and others during this pandemic.
“Being vaccinated means you are less likely to become seriously ill and require hospital care if you contract the virus.
“People of all ages can get sick from the Delta variant. If you haven’t yet booked a vaccination I encourage you to do so now and to keep checking with the Hawke’s Bay DHB or local health providers to see if a pop-up clinic is available near you, so you can receive one as soon as possible.”
For further information and FAQs about Napier City Council facilities and services under Alert Level 2, visit: napier.govt.nz, and for Hastings District go to www.hastingsdc.govt.nz
For COVID-19 information and updates, visit covid19.govt.nz
