Covid-19 Daily Updates

Auckland remains at Alert Level 4 until at least 11:59 pm on Tuesday 21 September. 
The rest of New Zealand remains at Alert Level 2* until at least 11:59 pm on Tuesday 21 September. 
These levels will be reviewed by the Government on Monday 20 September.
Travel across an Alert Level boundary is allowed only for permitted reasons; you will need evidence that your travel is permitted. 

*Please note that Alert Level 2 requirements have changed with some key requirements being:
– face coverings are now mandatory at all indoor public venues – see below for information for teachers regarding use of face coverings
– it is now mandatory to keep track of where you have been, either using the tracer app or by signing in manually – teachers are responsible for ensuring that all their students have signed in 
– indoor venues have a cap of only 50 people 

Please stay up to date with latest news and advice from the government on either the Ministry of Health or Unite Against COVID-19 websites.   

For details on Alert Level requirements, see https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-levels-and-updates/

All teachers should ensure that your teaching studio or business has the QR code prominently displayed (and a manual register available for those who choose to sign in manually) and that you are able enforce scanning in or manually signing in at your teaching studio or business at Alert Level 2. Specific advice received in response to a query from the Registrar to the Ministry of Health is the following: “Yes understood that wearing a mask is totally not practical when playing an instrument, in the ideal instance the Music Teacher will have a record book of who they see and when and also a QR code for the student to scan if they have a smartphone plus sanitize on arrival. The teacher will keep an ideal 2m distance where possible and pop their mask on when not using the instrument. Also the sharing of instruments is highly discouraged/ sanitize between students if it is something like a Piano. We are trusting that everyone will keep in mind the spread of COVID19 and its impact it would have so just being super cautious about sanitizing and keeping a distance where it is possible.”

If you (as a self-employed individual) or your business is experiencing financial hardship as a result of this latest lockdown, please see  https://covid19.govt.nz/business-and-money/financial-support/ for details regarding the assistance that is available to you. 

The COVID-19 vaccination programme is now open for all those 12 years and over.  We encourage all members to get vaccinated, as being fully vaccinated will reduce your risk of getting infected, and if you do get COVID-19, it means you could have no symptoms or will have much fewer, milder symptoms and recover faster. For more information, see covid-19 vaccine facts and information on covid-19 vaccines

Please continue to use measures such as: good hand hygiene; cough and sneeze etiquette; avoid touching your face; and clean surfaces such as door handles and phones regularly, to keep yourself and others safe. More details can be found here.

There have been 24 new cases in the last 24 hours, with 386 active cases in the community and 34 at the border, and a total of 420 active cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand. This is a total of 3,682 confirmed cases since COVID-19 appeared. There have been 27 deaths, and there are 10 cases in hospital.