Skip to main content

Council services and the Covid 19 protection framework

From Tuesday 4 April, Vaccine Passes will no longer be required to enter Council Facilities.

If you are unwell with any of these symptoms, please stay home and contact Healthline on 0800 358 5453 or call your local medical provider to get arrange a RAT test: 

  • Fever
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath
  • Sneezing or a runny nose

When you go for a test, take you NHI number with you to speed the process up. You can call 0800 855 066 to find your NHI number.

Here's how our services will work:

Council Offices and Customer Services

  • Customer Services desk will only be open from 10am - 12pm and 2pm - 4pm to take payments from customers. We encourage you to make payments through our website, create an automatic payment through your online banking, or set up a direct debit payment.
  • For all other Customer Service needs, please use our Request a Service Form, Snap Send Solve app, or call us on 0800 474 834.
  • Face-to-face meetings with staff will be by appointment only, and only if there is no other alternative way to meet. If you need to meet with a staff member they will contact you to discuss your options.
  • Face coverings and social distancing are required in the Customer Service area.

Library

  • The library will return to regular operating hours: Monday - Friday 9.30am - 5pm and Saturday 10am - 4pm.
  • Face masks are required to enter the library.
  • No face-to face programmes or events but some online events are running, see the library’s website for details.
  • Book-A-Librarian sessions are available online or by telephone, contact the library on 03 7556208 or email library@westlib.co.nz to book your session.
  • There are a range of contactless select and collect options for anyone who would like to borrow books, magazines DVD’s without coming into the library, call us or visit the library’s website for more details.
  • The library’s digital services (e-books, e-audiobooks, e-magazines, film streaming, language resources) and Reading Challenge platform Beanstack are available 24/7.

Museum

  • Museum is closed to the public for on-site research and collection visits.
  • All research enquiries can be made by email to enquiries@hokitikamuseum.nz or phone 03 755 6898.

Requirements at other Council premises remain unchanged, these are:

Hokitika Swimming Pool

  • Customers must wear a facemask in the public foyer.
  • Maintain physical distancing.
  • Restricted to a maximum of 50 people in the facility at all times.

Transfer Stations

A vaccine pass is not required. Please wear a mask and maintain physical distancing.

Hokitika i-SITE 

  • Restricted to a maximum of 10 people at a time.
  • Face coverings and social distancing are required.

Hokitika Airport

  • Masks are mandatory inside the terminal unless seated for eating or drinking.
  • Physical distancing is strongly encouraged.

What is the Covid-19 Protection Framework?

The Framework is a flexible 3-level approach to managing COVID-19 in the community:

  • Green: limited community transmission and COVID-19 case numbers are at levels the health system can manage.
  • Orange: community transmission is increasing and putting pressure on the health system.
  • Red: the health system is facing an unsustainable number of hospitalisations and action is needed to protect vulnerable people.

The Framework allows a greater level of freedom for vaccinated people than would be possible under the Alert Level system, and so reduces the social and economic burden of public health restrictions. It provides the tools, with public health measures and COVID-19 vaccine passes, to manage the higher public health risk to, and from, unvaccinated people.

How we stay safe at Orange:

  • Face coverings are mandatory on flights, public transport, in taxis, retail, public venues, and public facilities.

Where we can go at Orange:

  • Public facilities are open. Stay physically distanced where possible.
  • Retail, including farmers markets, is open.
  • ECEs, schools, kura and tertiary providers are open, with public health measures in place.

Council's Covid-19 Position Statement