New Zealand has woken up to Alert Level Four Lockdown this morning after a community case was identified in Devonport. Since then, four other cases have been identified.
The government took swift action as it had previously announced it would if any Delta variant cases were found in the community. New Zealand does not want to echo what is happening in New South Wales so, while a possible seven day lockdown is a huge blow to the hospitality sector, it is better to have a short and sharp reaction than to be stuck in a drawn out lockdown as we have seen across the ditch.
The key message from the last lockdown remains relevant: Stay at home, Save lives, Be tested. This will stop any undetected spread in the community.
The Ministry has partnered with the sector to develop the COVID-19 Outbreak Response Toolkit for Aged Residential Care.
The Toolkit outlines the practical steps the responsible person within an aged residential care facility should follow in relation to preparing, responding to, and reviewing an outbreak of COVID-19. It includes relevant links to the most up-to-date information related to COVID-19 on the Ministry’s website. You can access it here.
The Response Toolkit is also useful for Retirement Villages and more information and guidance for anyone in the aged care or retirement sector can be found here.
For businesses that are able to operate
If your employees need to work on site, you should:
- limit the number of people on site so everyone can safely stay 2 metres apart
- offer flexible working arrangements, for example, staggered meal breaks, or staggered start and finish times to help with physical distancing
- clean and disinfect your workplace regularly
- provide employees with hand washing facilities
- have personal protective equipment (PPE) available for employees to use
- display your QR code and have an alternative contact tracing system for workers to use
For more information about doing business at Alert Level 4, click here.
