5 Reports
21.9.29 The
new COVID-19 Protection Framework and what it means for council facilities and
staffing
Doc ID: 561411
1. Purpose
To note the decisions made
on access to council facilities under the new COVID-19 Protection Framework
(the traffic light system).
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Recommendations
That the report be received.
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2. Discussion
On 3 December 2021, New
Zealand moved to the new COVID-19 Protection Framework. This system replaced
the alert level system that had been in place since the outbreak of the
pandemic in 2019. The Government has now shifted from an elimination strategy
to reducing transmission and living with the virus.
The new traffic light
system has three settings (green, orange and red), with restrictions increasing
as the risk to communities increases. Central Otago, along with the rest of the
South Island, has moved to the orange setting. Under the orange setting, people
can continue to carry out most of their daily activities, but there are
restrictions in place to limit the spread of the virus and protect the
community.
As part of the new
framework, the ‘My Vaccine Pass’ has been introduced. At all
settings, in particular at red and orange, the vaccine pass enables fully
vaccinated people more access to businesses and services than those that are
not vaccinated. Also, dependant on the business and the setting level,
businesses may be required to close or operate in a contactless way if they
choose not to introduce the vaccine pass. While some workers are required to be
vaccinated (e.g. health care professionals and teachers), for the bulk of
businesses the decision on whether to introduce a vaccine pass sits with them.
There are a small number of exceptions where a vaccine pass cannot be required,
such as supermarkets, hospitals and police stations.
Under the Health and
Safety at Work Act 2015, Central Otago District Council is deemed to be a ‘person
conducting a business or undertaking’ (PCBU). As such, a decision needs
to be made on whether to introduce a vaccine pass or not. The authority of the
PCBU sits with the chief executive officer. As such, the chief executive
officer is required to make a decision on whether to introduce a vaccine pass
or not. This paper outlines these decisions for Central Otago District Council
and the implications for staff and visitors.
Vaccine Pass
Requirement Decisions
On determining whether a
vaccine pass is required to enter a council facility, several factors have been
weighed up. These include the current risk in the community, the nature of the
specific council functions and activity at various council facilities, the
opening of domestic travel on 15 December from areas with the COVID-19 delta
strain and that the upcoming school holidays. In considering these factors the
chief executive has determined that from 10 December 2021 any person aged over
12 years will be required to show a vaccine pass at any council-operated pool,
library or i-SITE. As the Roxburgh Service Centre is a fully integrated
facility that includes a library and an i-SITE, people accessing this Centre
will need to provide their vaccine pass to access council services such as
payment of rates face-to-face. If they do not have a vaccine pass those
services can still be accessed face-to-face at other service centres.
All other council-operated
facilities will operate under the standard orange settings, with scanning in,
the use of face masks and 1 metre distancing required. This is subject to
change at any time based on regular risk assessments to ensure the safety of
both staff and the community.
The 10 December 2021 date
has been chosen to enable the appropriate technology to be put in place, as
well as enable members of the community to prepare for this change. Given high
rates of vaccination in Central Otago, it is considered that the people in the
community that may be negatively impacted is relatively small. This decision is
made with the health and safety of the community as a whole in
mind.
Staffing considerations
Independent of the
decisions outlined above, council has conducted a risk assessment on all roles
in the organisation as required under the health and safety legislation. This
assessment and its proposed translation into a staff vaccination policy will be
consulted with staff from Monday 6 December 2021. A decision on the vaccination
policy will be made before the end of the year.
3. Attachments
Nil
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Report
author:
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Sanchia
Jacobs
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Chief
Executive Officer
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2/12/2021
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