Covid-19 Local Government Response Unit Update – Wednesday 17 November 2021
Local Government Response Unit main page
Today’s update
Today, Wednesday 17 November, the Prime Minister announced that on November 29 November, Cabinet will confirm that all of New Zealand will move into the Traffic Light system under the COVID-19 Protection Framework.
Auckland will move into Red, the highest level of the Traffic Light system.
All other regions will be assessed individually, and will move into Orange or Red.
The Prime Minister also announced that from 15 December, anyone will be able to travel across Auckland boundaries for any reason, so long as they are fully vaccinated or have had a negative test taken within 72 hours. These requirements will be kept in place until January 17 2022.
Both Air New Zealand and Inter Islander ferries will be implementing these same testing or vaccination requirements for domestic travel on these services.
Ahead of the move into the COVID-19 Protection Framework, the Government announced that it was developing guidance around the new Framework for different sectors.
COVID-19 vaccine pass
This morning the Government launched its vaccine pass, which allows New Zealanders to download proof of their first and second Covid-19 vaccinations.
The ‘My Vaccine Pass’ will take the form of a QR code that can be shown digitally or on printed paper, allowing venues to check whether a person has been vaccinated against the virus or not. This will be a key tool under the COVID-19 Protection Framework.
Requesting your pass only takes a few minutes and will be emailed to you within 24 hours. The quickest way to get your pass is through your My Covid Record, but if you cannot access this service you can call 0800 222 478.
If you are unable to login to My Covid Record or are experiencing any other issues with requesting your Vaccine Pass, please be patient. ‘My Vaccine Pass’ will not be needed until we move to the COVID-19 Protection Framework. If you can wait for a few days, it can help ease any demand on the IT system and call centre staff.
For further information on ‘My Vaccine Pass’ visit the Unite against COVID-19 website.
Development of guidance for the new COVID-19 Protection Framework
Ahead of the implementation COVID-19 Protection Framework on November 29, the Response Unit is working on shaping up guidance for the new Framework. The detail needed will emerge over the coming weeks.
We expect to issue a new set of Guidance for council services the week of 29 November.
We are conscious that this is a long time away for Councils. Organised by Taituarā, we met with a small sub-group of Councils to help frame up the new guidance and review the early iterations. This sub-group will meet again next week.
Both vaccination certificates and mandatory vaccinations will be a key part of the guidance. The 5:15 sent on Wednesday 27 October 2021 included information available at that time.
All current details on the COVID-19 Protection Framework is available on the COVID-19 website: The COVID-19 Protection Framework | Unite against COVID-19 (covid19.govt.nz), and the Response Unit provided an overview of the Framework in the update for Friday 22 October.
National State of Play
Auckland remains at Step 2 of Alert Level 3 and Cabinet will review Alert Level settings for Auckland on Monday 22 November.
Today Auckland students in Years 1 to 10 can return to face-to-face learning at schools and kura.
The rest of New Zealand remains at Alert Level 2 with current restrictions in place.
Information on current cases, COVID-19 test sites and economic support
There are 194 new community cases to report today, 180 in Auckland, five in Waikato, three in Northland and six in the Rotorua – Taupō Lakes District. This afternoon, the Ministry of Health also announce a confirmed case in Christchurch.
Available testing sites can be found on the Ministry of Health website: Available testing sites.
Locations of interest can be found at Locations of Interest . This is being updated as soon as information is available.
Economic assistance is available for those impacted by the lockdown, more information available on the COVID-19 website., including details of the new Business Boost package announced Friday.
Booster Vaccination Programme
On November 29the Prime Minister announced that from 29 November, any person aged 18 or over will be eligible for a vaccine booster shot, once they have been fully vaccinated for six months.
Eligible people will be able to book their vaccine booster shot through the book my vaccine website.
People who had a third shot because they were immuno-suppressed would need to wait until six months after their third dose.
Covid-19 Vaccination in the workplace and next steps Webinar
On Monday 8 November, Taituarā held a webinar on the vaccination mandate and related issues as well as the steps the response unit is taking to review the guidance as policy decisions are made.
The webinar was recorded and will be made available to all who registered. If you’ve not registered, you can still register for free and receive the recording by emailing webinars@taituara.org.nz.
Epidemic notice remains in force
The Epidemic notice was renewed on 8 September 2021 and will remain in place for three months. More information of the provisions in the notice are outlined in previous Response Unit updates, which can be viewed on the Local Government Response Unit webpage.
