The Department of Internal Affairs

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs

Building a safe, prosperous and respected nation



 

Update - Monday, 24 August 2020

COVID-19 Local Government Response Unit main page

  • The Auckland region (Auckland Council area) remains at Alert Level 3 until 11:59pm Sunday 30 August and the rest of New Zealand remains at Alert Level 2.
  • Following this the country, including Auckland, will remain at Alert Level 2 for a further week until 11.59pm on Sunday 6 September.
  • The Response Unit remains on hand to support you. You can send enquiries to your usual SOLGM, LGNZ, DIA contacts or this inbox: LGCGcovid19response@dia.govt.nz

Mask use on Public Transport

  • The Government has today announced that masks will be mandated for travel on public transport and flights at Alert Level 2 and above from Monday 31 August 2020.
  • We have updated our guidance for this service to reflect this (attached) and will look to have this on our website as soon as possible.
  • As per our update on Friday 21 August, this guidance has also been updated to reflect those council services and facilities where we would recommend staff or public wear a mask or facial covering across the alert levels and the display of QR Codes (discussed further below).  These changes have been made in bold for ease of access.
  • We will work to upload this updated guidance to our webpage promptly.

Travel Exemptions

  • Travel into, out of and through the Auckland region is heavily restricted while the region is at Alert Level 3. The police are enforcing this at checkpoints.
  • You must have an exemption, either under the Health Order or from the Director General of Health, to travel between a level 2 and 3 zone.
  • Very limited travel across the Auckland boundary is permitted for some work purposes. Please review the covid19.govt.nz website for a list of workers who can cross the regional boundary without prior permission from the Ministry of Health.
  • Each individual should carry photo identification and an official, recently dated, letter — either in hard copy or on their phone — from their employer that:
    • indicates their travel is necessary, and
    • clearly states which of the above categories they are travelling under.
  • If documentation is not provided, Police will refuse access to the vehicle and request they turn back.
  • Information on the process for applications for other travel exemptions can be found the at the Government COVID-19 website. Requests for exemptions should be sent to covid-19policyresponse@health.govt.nz
  • We understand the team processing these applications has been expanded and are working through these applications at pace.

Display and use of QR codes

COVID-19 Response Preparedness

Other useful Resources

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