Michael Gibbons
From:
Peter Kel y
Sent:
Thursday, 18 November 2021 4:01 pm
To:
Al UHCC Staff
Cc:
Council ors
Subject:
CE COVID Update To staff 181121
Kia ora koutou katoa,
Yesterday the government announced that on November 29 November, Cabinet wil confirm that al of New Zealand
wil move into the Traffic Light system under the COVID-19 Protection Framework (CPF).
Auckland wil move into Red, the highest level of the Traffic Light system.
Al other regions wil be assessed individual y, and wil move into Orange or Red.
It was also announced that from 15 December, anyone wil be able to travel across Auckland boundaries for any
reason, so long as they are ful y vaccinated or have had a negative test taken within 72 hours. These requirements
wil be kept in place until January 17, 2022. Both Air New Zealand and Inter Islander ferries wil be implementing
these same testing or vaccination requirements for domestic travel on these services.
Ahead of the move into the CPF, the Government announced that it was developing guidance around the new
Framework and we expect to receive a new set of Guidance for council services during the week of 29
November. Al 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) Once we have received that guidance
we wil be able to consider how that impacts us al at council in delivering the leadership, support and services to
our community.
As we move into the new CPF the government has launched its vaccine pass, which al ows New Zealanders to
download proof of their first and second Covid-19 vaccinations. The ‘My Vaccine Pass’ wil take the form of a QR
code that can be shown digital y or on printed paper, al owing venues to check whether a person has been
vaccinated against the virus or not. This wil be a key tool under the CPF and wil be required to be shown to access
certain facilities/events and the like.
I have gone through the process and it was relatively painless and should take a few minutes and wil 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 cal 0800 222 478. For further information on ‘My Vaccine Pass’ visit the Unite against COVID-19
website.
This week the Health Order came into effect and we have had to comply with that order. Those staff impacted by
that have been informed and we are seeking confirmation of their vaccine status. We wil work with each individual
staff member who has been identified but has not yet been vaccinated or shown proof of vaccination. The numbers
are smal and we wil work with them exploring a range of options and manage our way through this process.
With regards to any further vaccine mandates for council staff this does appear unlikely, but we do not yet have a
ful understanding of the operational environment that we wil be stepping into when the new CPF kicks in. By way
of a hypothetical example, wil UHCC require al people who enter council facilities to show their vaccination status?
If so, what happens if a person is not vaccinated, are they al owed to enter or not?
Depending on that answer, that wil have a bearing on the total number of people al owed inside the
building at any one time and wil impact our pool, library, civic building and Whirinaki Whare Taonga.
If only vaccinated people are permitted to enter our premises:
o How do we serve those members of our community who are not vaccinated?
o What does that mean for the staff that work in that facility, as they wil most likely have to be
vaccinated.
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So as you can see this is a complex issue requiring a lot of careful consideration of government policy, COVID-19
protection framework, DIA, LGNZ and Taituarā advice. Al of which has to be worked through to determine our own
council health and safety policy.
Ngā mihi
Peter
Peter Kelly
Te Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive
Te Kaunihera o Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta | Upper Hutt City Council
838 – 842 Fergusson Drive, Private Bag 907, Upper Hutt 5140, New Zealand
Tau Waea: +64 4 527 2110 | Waea Pūkoro: +64 27 208 8000 | Īmēra: peter.kel [email address]
Pae Tukutuku: www.upperhuttcity.com | Pukamata: www.fb.com/UpperHuttCityCouncil
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Michael Gibbons
From:
Peter Kel y
Sent:
Thursday, 25 November 2021 4:28 pm
To:
Al UHCC Staff
Cc:
Council ors
Subject:
CE COVID Update to Staff 251121
Kia ora everyone,
ELT are due to meet on 1 Dec next week and at that meeting we wil confirm the advice received from Government
on 29 Nov, and sector specific advice received from LGNZ/DIA/Taituarā. We wil then be in a position to review al
the Risk Assessments for UHCC staff and make a decision on our H&S policy with regards to further COVID mitigation
measures and controls for our workplace. These could include;
making it compulsory for members of the public who enter our premises to show a vaccination certificate
verifying the vaccination certificate via scanning
mask wearing when moving around and in meetings inside our facilities
maintaining physical distancing
continuing staff scanning QR codes/signing in on entry, and
potential y mandatory vaccinations for some or al staff
No decisions have been reached yet and we wil continue to be guided by the official government advice. The new
traffic light system comes into effect at 11.59 on Thur 2 Dec and the fol owing link provides some information
regarding this new framework. It is a bit scant on detail and as I have al uded to above, we are expecting further
advice to help shape our decisions.
Ultimately, I am responsible to you to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable the health and safety of al staff
when here in the workplace and when working off-site. We al have a mutual obligation for this and right now given
where this pandemic is likely to go, getting vaccinated is more important than ever.
Ngā mihi
Peter
COVID Traffic Light System
Peter Kelly
Te Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive
Te Kaunihera o Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta | Upper Hutt City Council
838 – 842 Fergusson Drive, Private Bag 907, Upper Hutt 5140, New Zealand
Tau Waea: +64 4 527 2110 | Waea Pūkoro: +64 27 208 8000 | Īmēra: peter.kel [email address]
Pae Tukutuku: www.upperhuttcity.com | Pukamata: www.fb.com/UpperHuttCityCouncil
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Michael Gibbons
From:
Peter Kel y
Sent:
Thursday, 2 December 2021 11:21 am
To:
Al UHCC Staff
Cc:
Council ors
Subject:
CE COVID Update 021221 COVID-19 Protection Framework: Life at orange
Kia ora koutou katoa,
Yesterday the ELT met to determine our health and safety settings for al staff and how we intend to operate our
facilities as we move into the new COVID-19 Protection Framework CPF). We started off by understanding the
definition for “public facilities” which is “services at facilities provided by central or local government, that are open
to al of the public for recreational, social, community or cultural activities or services, including museums, public
gal eries, libraries, recreation centres, swimming pools, and zoos. Membership facilities are not included. Event or
gathering rules apply to any part of the facility that is hired for exclusive use.” So, the first part was assessing this
and breaking it down, that is:
Provided by local government
Open to the public for…cultural activities…
Not a membership facility
Not a private hire event or gathering
On that basis al our facilities are covered by the Public Facilities guidance within the COVID-19 Protection
Framework (CVP) and not the Entertainment, Recreation and Exercise rules.
However, Whirinaki Whare Taonga whilst being a “Public Facility” could not ful y operate at either Orange or Red
under the CPF and the Board has determined that a COVID Vaccine Pass (CVP) wil be required by al people 12 years
and older to enter the facility. This is permissible under the CPF framework and is seen as a pragmatic solution due
to operating model of Whirinaki Whare Taonga and the limitations of the building design (no separate air flow/HVAC
systems), large separate spaces and Dough cafe.
Our swimming pool, library and civic building are Public Facilities under the definition but are not as complex as
Whirinaki. As such we can operate these facilities safely under those rules that have been put in place within the
CPF, where the guidance is very clear.
As a result, UHCC wil announce shortly, that we will not require vaccine passes to be shown at most of our public
facilities when the city moves to the traffic light system on 3 December. The public facilities include Upper Hutt
Libraries, Council’s Civic Centre and H2O Xtream Aquatic Centre, with the H2O Xtream Café operating a contactless
service only.
For clarity the practical steps we must implement to enable this are Customers and staff:
- Must scan in.
- Must wear a mask. (pools may be exempt once customers go poolside) in public spaces.
- Capacity limits (including staff based on building size)
- Manual process to record visit (for those who do not have a smart phone)
Many other councils run a number of different functions from within their facilities and their situation wil be unique
to them and their community and as such have made decisions based on their own circumstances. For instance, if
you have a gym, café and the like within a swimming pool (think of Freyberg in WCC) then with the gym and café
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they must institute a CVP policy or they wil have to close those businesses down. Likewise, Walter Nash stadium is a
gym, library and service centre etc but because it has a gym it must operate a CVP policy.
Without wanting to second guess the government, I am assuming the government have done this deliberately so as
to be equitable across al of the community when accessing public facilities. Otherwise, one could assume that they
would have implemented a COVID mandate if they believed the risks could not be mitigated.
Secondly, now that we have an understanding of how our facilities wil operate under the CPF, we had to determine
the health and safety risk to al UHCC employees under the Health and Safety Workplace Act. We did this by
conducting a risk assessment of al the roles here at UHCC. Some roles must be vaccinated under the Public Health
Order where they are likely to go onto school grounds and this is wel in hand. From the risk assessment we then
had to determine for those roles assessed as sitting in the high category 23-35 (1 being little risk-35 very high risk)
can the existing controls mitigate the risk down to the medium level. The controls in place are:
Staff must scan and sign in
Must wear a mask (library, pool and public facing area within the civic building)
Staff must fol ow the building control layout
Staff must stay home if sick
We wil continue to implement a 50/50 remote working policy
Capacity limits (including staff based on building size)
Observe physical distancing
In assessing that we determined that those controls were not sufficient so we wil now be consulting on
implementing a COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate policy for al staff whose roles fal within the 23-35 band of the risk
assessment. We wil be consulting over the next week with al staff with the intention that al staff identified wil
need to have their first vaccination by 20 Dec and second by 17 Jan 22 and Performance and Capability wil be
sending out the consultation document tomorrow to al staff for feedback and review.
Final y, we have a series of review dates for al of this fol owing the government review set for around 13 Dec ahead
of Auckland’s borders opening. The ELT wil be meeting on 16 Dec to review the policy with any announcements
planned for 17 Dec. The again in late January once back at work.
So please be assured we have fol owed a thorough process where al the ELT and General Counsel were in
agreement and these decisions were not taken lightly. In summary, we assessed the public facility nature of our
business and that we are open to al of the public for recreational, social, community or cultural activities or
services. Our premise was that under this definition, UHCC is inclusive not exclusive. Once we reached that
decision, we then assessed the Health and Safety risk to our staff and mitigation through the implementation of
various controls, which I have laid out above.
I am happy to take any questions you may have on this and for everyone’s awareness I have included the draft
media release, which is embargoed until it is publicly released later today.
Ngā mihi
Peter
Peter Kelly
Te Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive
Te Kaunihera o Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta | Upper Hutt City Council
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838 – 842 Fergusson Drive, Private Bag 907, Upper Hutt 5140, New Zealand
Tau Waea: +64 4 527 2110 | Waea Pūkoro: +64 27 208 8000 | Īmēra: peter.kel [email address]
Pae Tukutuku: www.upperhuttcity.com | Pukamata: www.fb.com/UpperHuttCityCouncil
FOR STAFF INFO - EMBARGOED UNTIL 3PM 2 December 2021:
No vaccine passes required for most public facilities in Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt City Council has announced that it will not require vaccine passes to be shown at most of its public facilities
when the city moves to the traffic light system on 3 December.
The public facilities include Upper Hutt Libraries, Council’s Civic Centre and H2O Xtream Aquatic Centre, with the H2O
Xtream Café operating a contactless service only.
Council made the call after working through the advice received from Government, as well as sector specific advice from
LGNZ, DIA and Taituarā, to see how it impacted its Health and Safety settings with regards to further COVID-19 mitigation
measures and controls for council facilities.
“There were two key factors that drove our thinking” says Upper Hutt City Council’s Chief Executive, Peter Kelly. “The
accessibility and equity considerations for all of the community, and the vaccination coverage within our community and the
rest of the region.”
“Our pool, libraries and customer services functions at the Council building are public facilities, it’s important to us that we
continue to allow access for everyone in Upper Hutt” Kelly says.
Whirinaki Whare Taonga is the exception to this decision. They will require all visitors to be fully vaccinated – excluding
under 12s who can’t currently be vaccinated, and those with exemptions.
“Whirinaki is a multi-purpose public facility that includes five galleries, a 200-seat theatre, a large recreation hall with
supporting event spaces, the Upper Hutt i-SITE Visitor Centre and Dough Bakery, with open access between the various
spaces” says Community Services Director, Mike Ryan.
“Under the COVID-19 Protection Framework, vaccine passes are required for the centre to continue to operate across all its
functions” says Ryan.
Council Chambers remain closed to the public for now, with public forum for the December council meeting being held via
Zoom and live streamed on Facebook. However, the Council does plan to offer physical public attendance again in the New
Year.
Other public spaces like the city’s parks and playgrounds will have no vaccine pass requirements but the Council is
encouraging its residents and visitors to follow public health guidelines. Sporting and club events wil follow the guidelines
put in place by organisers like Sport New Zealand.
The council says it wants to be clear that the decision made this week may change as further information comes to light, or
the Government makes more changes. A review will take place on 17 December, with another planned for January.
90% of eligible people in Upper Hutt, Kāpiti and Wel ington City are now ful y vaccinated, while 90% have had their first dose
in Lower Hutt and Porirua.
“It’s good to see high levels of vaccination being reported by the Hutt Val ey District Health Board” Peter Kelly says.
“However it’s still important to keep following the public health guidelines when you’re visiting any Council facilities – wear
a mask, scan or sign in, sanitise your hands, observe physical distancing and only visit if you are feeling well.”
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