From Friday next week visitors aged 12 and over will have to show their government My Vaccine Pass on arrival at all Central Otago District Council(CODC) pools, libraries and council-run i-sites. The move is one of many COVID-related organisational changes local government are having to deal with.

New ‘orange traffic light’ settings are being introduced across the south from today in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed at allowing people to carry on everyday activities but with restrictions.

The council has also had to manage public access to meetings – none of which have been cancelled this year due to COVID-19 - and the vaccination status of its staff. 

A new policy was currently being developed to manage vaccination considerations of council’s own staff.  Most had chosen to get vaccinated already, CODC chief executive Sanchia Jacobs said.

“We already know that the majority of CODC staff have chosen to be vaccinated on their own accord. We are working to develop a vaccination policy to determine our position on the requirements for staff regarding Covid-19 vaccination. We will be consulting with staff on this before we make any determination.”

All council meetings, which have been publicly livestreamed and recorded since August, will continue to be closed to the public to attend in person. A council spokesperson said a decision, however, will be made following next week’s full council meeting on how future meetings would be managed.

Vaccine passes at pools, libraries and i-sites would not be required immediately.

 “We will be phasing this in to allow time for us to get systems in place for this new approach and to allow the community to prepare for these changes,” she said.

 At all other council offices and facilities council will be working within the traffic lights settings (the Covid Protection Framework) – requiring people to mask up, keep their distance, scan or sign-in, and observe capacity limits, according to a council statement released yesterday 

Sanchia said she encourages “all people to consider getting vaccinated for themselves and for their community”.

“We are in a very challenging and dynamic environment and things can change at short notice. I have made decisions I believe to be balanced for the risk profile specific to Central Otago and staff at CODC, conscious that some our facilities require intermingling of people in close proximity, and that the school holidays and increased domestic travel is fast approaching.”

She said staff were committed to helping all residents access services and help was available.  

“We will endeavour to find workarounds where we can do so, while keeping our staff and our community safe. Council recognises this is a dynamic environment and health protection measures are subject to change. Rest assured any changes to the way we operate will be communicated.”

Many local places were offering assistance to people in getting their Pass organised, including local pharmacies, Central Otago REAP and Central Otago Libraries.

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