Council to require passes

Auckland Council will require the public to use vaccine passes at all its staffed services and facilities when they reopen.

Auckland moves to the red setting under the government’s new traffic light system tomorrow. Most council facilities have been closed during alert level 3, step 2, but from tomorrow, anyone 12 and up will need to produce their My Vaccine Pass to gain entry, unless medically exempt. Facilities including gyms, pools, holiday parks, animal shelters, community centres, libraries, and visitors centres will require a vaccine certificate.

These will be required until at least January 17, 2022, when the government will reassess Auckland’s traffic light level.

The council is considering a mandate for elected members. It has also proposed that all staff should be vaccinated.

Ninety-one per cent of workers who responded to a survey early last month said that they either had received their first dose and intended to get their second, or were fully vaccinated. A further 2.1 per cent said they intended to get vaccinated.

Mayor Phil Goff said he supports the decision, which will help keep the council’s staff and customers safe: ‘‘We are currently planning for outdoor service provision wherever possible at our libraries, and will continue to provide our highly popular wi-fi, digital and ‘click-and-collect’ services.’’

Councillor Alf Filipaina, chairman of the council’s Parks, Arts,

Community and Events Committee, said restricting physical access to council services was not a decision taken lightly: ‘‘Ultimately, as we move through the Government’s Covid-19 settings, we want as many Aucklanders as possible to be able to enjoy our facilities again,’’ Filipaina said. ‘‘But we also need to ensure we’re doing everything we can to keep our staff and customers safe.’’

There are exceptions to the rule, including council-owned baches, lodges, venues for hire, and outdoors at cemeteries.

The council said those venues would not require vaccine passes because only a small number of people use these spaces.

However, rules on masks and physical distancing would still apply in those places.