Most of Christchurch City Council’s public facilities will re-open under COVID-19 Alert Level 2.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that all of New Zealand, apart from Auckland, will move to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 from Tuesday 7 September at 11.59pm. Auckland will remain at Alert Level 4 at least until 11.59pm on Tuesday 14 September.

“I am sure people are very pleased to hear the news that we are moving to Alert Level 2 after two weeks of Level 4 lockdown and one week of Level 3 restrictions,” says Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel.

“Under Alert Level 2, nearly all our public facilities will re-open. Staff are really looking forward to welcoming people back to our libraries, pools, sport and recreation centres, community centres, art gallery and museum.

“We will have all the necessary measures in place to keep everyone safe, including sign-in for contact tracing purposes. To help break the chain of transmission, should we get any community cases of Covid-19, we will be asking everyone who comes to one of our facilities to record their visit before entering.

“NZ Covid Tracer QR codes will be displayed at the entry to all our facilities. If you are unable to scan the QR code, we will provide alternative ways for you to record your visit,’’ Mayor Dalziel says.

Some of the Council’s public facilities will operate slightly differently from normal when they reopen because of the additional Alert Level 2 requirements and the need to restrict visitor numbers to ensure that those using the facilities can maintain a two metre physical distance from others.

“Please be patient and follow the directions of staff. The changes that will be in place are designed to keep us all safe. You will also need to follow the Government’s advice on mask wearing at our indoor venues.’’

Most businesses can reopen under Alert Level 2, provided they follow the alert level requirements.

“This latest lockdown has been hard on many of our businesses. As residents, the best thing that we can do to support them is to buy local. As we move into Alert Level 2 I would encourage you all to support local businesses,’’ says Mayor Dalziel.

“Just like everyone else I’m excited to be getting back to a more normal way of life. But the Auckland outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID-19 shows that we must stay vigilant – the battle to keep virus out of our communities is not over.

“We are very fortunate we have not had any community cases of Delta in Christchurch, but we cannot afford to get complacent so make sure that you use the NZ COVID tracer app to scan in at every place you visit. If you, or someone in your house, is unwell, please stay home and if you have any COVID symptoms, get tested,’’ Mayor Dalziel says.

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