​Waipā shifts back to Alert Level 2

Restrictions are back in place at all Waipā District Council facilities as the district shifts into Alert Level 2.

The move follows an announcement by the Government yesterday afternoon of nationwide restrictions after three cases of community transmission of Covid-19 were discovered in Auckland.

Auckland is now at Alert Level Three and the rest of the country at Alert Level Two. The restrictions will be in place for three days until Wednesday pending further announcements from the Government.

Under Alert Level 2 guidelines:

• Contact tracing, physical distancing and limits on the number of people allowed into buildings is in place at all businesses and public facilities in Waipā.
• Operations such as roading, water services, maintenance, major projects, essential services and recycling will continue as normal with safety measures in place.
• Rubbish collection services, although privately managed in Waipā, are essential and will continue to operate.
• Front counter services at Council’s Cambridge and Te Awamutu officer will remain open with a limit on the number of people allowed into the building. Contact tracing and physical distancing measure will be in place.
• Facilities including playgrounds, skateparks, toilets, BMX tracks and boat ramps will also remain open to the public with restrictions.
• The libraries and museum will also remain open with limits on the numbers of people allowed into the building at one time to ensure physical distancing can take place.

Residents must adhere to strict physical distancing and are encouraged to wash their hands before and after using any public exercise or playground equipment.

No more than 50 people will be allowed in the Te Awamutu Library and 30 in the Cambridge Library for a maximum of 20 minutes at once, and no more than 20 people in the Te Awamutu museum for a maximum of 30 minutes at once.

Several events scheduled for early this week have been postponed. These are:

• Makerspace, held on Tuesdays at the Cambridge Library,
• Wriggle and Rhyme held on Tuesdays at both libraries,
• The Digital Steps Programme running at both libraries,
• Two Heritage Month events; the Cambridge Suburban Heritage Walk and a talk on Modernism at the Te Awamutu library, and
• Council’s One Stop Shop event. Those registered for the event will be contacted by event organisers.

The Takapoto Event Show Jumping at Takapoto Estate has been cancelled this weekend and a call will be made later this week on whether the event will still go ahead on the following weekend.

More information on all events will be available following a decision from Government on Wednesday regarding alert levels. Any residents registered for Heritage events later this week will be contacted.

Residents are encouraged to download Council’s Antenno app which can be used to pay rates, make an inquiry or lodge a complaint. The Antenno app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.

For more information visit www.waipadc.govt.nz/covid-19.