Nelson City Council services at COVID-19 Alert Level 4

New Zealand entered a COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown on Wednesday, 18 August.

The Ministry of Health received the results last night of the genome sequencing for case A. It is the Delta variant.

These developments strongly reinforce the importance of the actions taken last night in the move to Alert Level 4 and underpin the importance of everyone keeping to the lockdown conditions.

The key message from the last lockdown remains relevant: stay at home, save lives, get tested. This will stop any undetected spread in the community.

Only leave your home if you need to, and please wear a mask when you do. There are instances of people contracting the Delta variant simply by walking past someone with it.
 
Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese asked Nelsonians to take care of each other and respect the lockdown conditions.

“This was a sudden change for everyone, so I understand some people in our community may feel isolated and anxious. As the Prime Minister said last night, we have succeeded before by going ‘hard and early’, and I am confident we can do that again. Stay at home, wear a mask if you need to leave your house, and get tested if you feel unwell.

“Look out for friends, whanau and neighbours who may need a little extra help at this time. Make contact without breaking Level 4 restrictions and see where you can help.”

Staying at home — what it means

We need your support to protect New Zealand and eliminate COVID-19.  Everyone must now stay home.

• From 11:59pm on Tuesday 17 August you can only leave home to shop for groceries, access necessary healthcare, get a COVID-19 test, exercise in your local area, or go to work if you are working in an Alert Level 4 service and cannot work from home.
• Only make physical contact with those in your household bubble. 
• From 11.59pm on Wednesday 18 August, anyone over the age of 12 must wear a mask inside any Alert Level 4 businesses and services that are still open and involve customer contact, including supermarkets, pharmacies and petrol stations. Staff must also wear a mask.

Do not worry, during this time you will be able to access all the essentials you need, including medicine and food. 
 
Council Services

At all Alert Levels, Nelson City Council will maintain essential services, including refuse/recycling, public transport for essential workers, roading, water, wastewater, stormwater and its cemetery/crematorium.

Group Manager Infrastructure Alec Louverdis says Council has contingency plans in place for all of our core services, and Council officers are working with contractors to ensure these are now operational.

Facilities:

All Council facilities are closed, and many other services cannot run at Alert Level 4.

Council has closed all of its indoor community facilities. This includes our three libraries and all our community centres, swimming pools and venues including Saxton Pavilion and Oval, Trafalgar Centre, Greenmeadows, Broadgreen House and Isel House. Please note: Trafalgar Centre and Greenmeadows are being used as vaccination centres.

The Customer Service Centre at Civic House is closed. Staff are working remotely and only accepting calls and emails.

Libraries:

Nelson’s three libraries – Elma Turner Library, Stoke Library and Nightingale Library Memorial are closed under COVID-19 Alert Level 4.
 
This means all programmes, including the upcoming Rainbow Storytime event on Saturday, 21 August, are cancelled.
 
No returns can be made to the library at this time, however, no fees will be incurred.
 
Existing library card holders have access to thousands of e-books, audiobooks, newspapers, magazines and movies, television shows, documentaries and courses offered as part of the library’s extensive
online services.
 
The library’s online catalogue includes more than 13,000 eBooks and audiobooks, 2400 newspapers and 3900 magazines via PressReader and more than 30,000 movies, television shows, courses and documentaries with Kanopy.
 
If you would like help accessing these items, please get in touch by completing a Book a Librarian form and one of our friendly staff will come back to you by phone, email or zoom.
http://www.nelsonpubliclibraries.co.nz/online/book-a-librarian
 
Playgrounds, outdoor exercise equipment, drinking fountains and public toilets:

Council’s community playgrounds, exercising equipment and drinking fountains are closed, please do not use them. 

While we know there is a need for the community to get fresh air and exercise, keeping the equipment sanitised is not possible, and the risk of passing on the virus is too high.

In line with government guidelines, only public toilets on a main freight route or where requested by an essential service remain open. While these toilets will have increased cleaning, we advise the public only to use these in an emergency. 

Rubbish and Recycling: 

Kerbside recycling collection will continue, but all collected materials except glass, will go to landfill. Nelsonians have the option of storing clean recycling, if they can do so safely, until normal service resumes. 

All five Tasman District Resource Recovery Centres and the Pascoe Street transfer station are closed.

Public Transport:

Bus services are for essential services staff and travel only. Payment is contactless through Bee Card and there will be safe distancing introduced on buses. Mask use remains in place, as does extra cleaning of buses.
 
Nelson’s bus service for routes 1 and 2 will operate a Saturday timetable with the addition of 7 am and 7.30 am services.

Local bus services operate as follows:

Atawhai – 0700, 0800, 0930, 1030, 1130, 1240, 1310, 1410, 1500, 1600, 1700
 
Brook – 0730, 0830, 0900, 1000, 11001, 1210, 1310, 1410, 1530, 1630, 1730
 
Hospital – 0700, 0730, 0930, 1030, 1140, 1240, 1340, 1440, 1530, 1630, 1730
 
No Stoke loop and No Richmond Loop services
 
Total Mobility remains for essential travel only, and there are no changes to the scheme regarding fares at this stage.

Nelson’s reserves and mountain bike trails: 

You can walk, run or cycle around your neighbourhood, or your local reserve, provided it is readily accessible from your residence. Always keep a 2-metre distance from people not in your bubble at all times.

Stick to simple outdoor exercise and avoid areas where you can get injured or lost, or that have narrow tracks that make social distancing difficult or dangerous.

Nelson’s Maitai and Roding Water Reserves (including the Maitai Dam) are closed to the public for all recreation to protect key staff who work in these areas from potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus.

Tahunanui Beach Reserve, Saxton Fields and Branford Park are closed to vehicle access.

The Marsden Valley Dog Park in Stoke is closed. The vehicle entrance gate to the park on Marsden Valley Road will be closed, as will the gates to the exercise area.

All Nelson and Tasman’s trails are closed to mountain bikers. There may not be signage up on all the trails to indicate this, but they should be treated as closed.

The bike tracks at Tahunanui Reserve and Corder Park are also closed. 

Nelson Marina:

Access to the Nelson Marina Ramps/Pontoons is restricted; only berth-holders may access these areas. Walkers and bikers who live locally are still allowed to use the public walkways and roads. The government’s Alert Level 4 restrictions apply to all berth-holders and their access to the Marina. 

The Marina hardstand is closed during lockdown, and Travelift is for emergency lifts only.

Recreational fishing is not allowed under Alert Level 4 restrictions and the boat ramp remains closed
 
Campgrounds:

The Maitai Valley Motor Camp and the Brook Valley Holiday Park are closed to new arrivals, but will continue to operate for permanent occupants and existing guests.

Freedom camping sites are closed. Freedom Campers are encouraged to use the 48 hour travel window to get home, if this is not possible then to go to a campground that is capable of taking new arrivals. If financial help is needed, please get in touch with the Ministry for Social Development.
 
Rates:
 
Council understands the recent move to Alert Level 4 may have placed financial pressure on some people. 
 
We are encouraging ratepayers struggling to pay rates invoices due 20 August to contact us to explore a range of solutions dependent on their circumstances. These include rates rebates for those eligible, direct debit amendments, manageable payment plans with lower fixed weekly amounts, or spreading their current and future rates over an extended period via direct debit. Non-payment penalties will not be charged if a payment plan is in place.
 
If you require assistance, wish to make a payment arrangement for this account, or need help paying your rates while our council offices are closed, please get in touch with our Customer Service Centre on 03 546 0200 or email customer.service@ncc.govt.nz.

Building inspections:

All building inspections have been suspended. Duty building officer appointments may still be booked, these will have to be undertaken remotely via phone, zoom. It is business as usual for the rest of the building team, but at a reduced capacity due to working remotely.

Water meter readings:

Nelson City Council will also not carry out water meter readings during COVID-19 Alert Level 4.
This is to ensure the continued safety of the public and our meter readers who are usually required to attend properties.
Reading of both residential and commercial water meters and the subsequent invoicing will recommence once the lockdown is over.
If people are having difficulty paying their water accounts, please call the Customer Service Centre on 03 546 0200 or email enquiry@ncc.govt.nz to discuss a manageable payment arrangement.

Funerals and tangihanga:
 
Council will continue to provide burial and cremation services within Alert Level 4 restrictions.
 
If whanau and families have any questions, they should contact their funeral director.

For more information visit the Ministry of Health website.