Vaccine pass requirements have been dropped at several Taupō District Council venues, including the Superloo and AC Baths.
My Vaccine Pass requirements for entry into council-owned venues, offices and facilities across the district have been relaxed as of Monday, March 14.
Council chief executive Gareth Green said excluding anyone from public facilities was “certainly not something that anyone has enjoyed doing”.
Vaccine passes were introduced at council offices, facilities and venues in December last year.
“We believe that it was the right thing to do at the time in order to ensure the safety of our staff and customers, whilst also ensuring that the venues could operate as normally as possible, but the settings have changed to such an extent that a different approach is now warranted,” Green said.
Vaccine passes will no longer be required for entry into the following venues:
- Taupō District libraries (Taupō, Tūrangi and Mangakino)
- The Superloo
- Taupō Museum
- Great Lake Centre
- AC Baths swimming pools
- Turtle Pools, Tūrangi
- Owen Delany Park
- All council offices
Green said council management made a commitment to councillors that the decision to introduce vaccine pass restrictions would be continually reviewed in light of the fast-moving nature of Covid-19, and these reviews have now shown that a change in approach can safely be implemented.
“We wanted to do our utmost to help reduce the risks of spreading the Delta variant, which was the focus at the time.
“Of course, the situation continues to rapidly evolve, and we are now dealing with a completely different scenario since that decision,” Green said.
“Vaccination rates are up across our district, children’s vaccinations have become available, Omicron is now the dominant variant, and the country has now fully transitioned away from an elimination strategy, as we all learn to live with Covid-19 in our community.
“From this review, we believe timing is now right, with council having a range of tools in place including RATs and isolation requirements, that help us with quick testing and reducing transmission as well.”
The council's customer service centres, council chamber, landfill and transfer stations have always remained open to both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Green said vaccine passport requirements would remain in place at the Taupō Events Centre and function rooms, Fitness Studio and The Rockwall due to capacity numbers and other factors around staffing and central government guidelines within the red traffic light setting.
Credit: Stuff.co.nz
