My Vaccine Pass needed at Far North libraries, venues

Adults and children aged over 12 years and three months now need to show a My Vaccine Pass when visiting council libraries and the museum @ Te Ahu.

Far North District Council management is introducing the new requirement at public venues, where they say people tend to spend significant amounts of time, in response to the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

It is not requiring people to show a My Vaccine Pass when accessing customer service centres or i-Site visitor information centres.

People will also need to show a My Vaccine Pass when attending in-person council, committee and community board meetings. These are currently being held online and no date has been set for when inperson meetings will resume. Vaccine passes are already required for entry to Far North pools.

Where libraries and service centres are co-located at Kaitāia, Kāeo and Kawakawa, measures will be put in place to ensure those accessing the service centre can do so quickly and without needing to show a My Vaccine Pass.

Chief executive Shaun Clarke says council management is introducing the new safety measure to protect customers and staff from the highly contagious Omicron.

‘‘We appreciate that libraries are our most popular service. However, keeping our customers and staff safe is our paramount concern. We encourage library users who don’t have a My Vaccine Pass to check out the wide range of online library resources, including our click and collect service that allows customers to pick up items without coming into the library.’’

Slowing the spread of Omicron in the workplace was also a key factor in management’s decision. ‘‘We are trying to avoid the need to close facilities if high numbers of staff get sick or need to go into isolation after being identified as close contacts with infected people.’’

Clarke appeals to the public to be patient while the council implements the new requirements. ‘‘Security personnel will be on hand at some council locations to ensure the transition to the new system runs smoothly. We ask our customers to treat these people and our frontline staff with respect and to remember that we are requiring My Vaccine Passes to keep everyone safe.’’

*It takes three months to get two vaccinations and a vaccination pass. That means the vaccination pass requirement begins for customers at 12 years and three months.