It was announced this afternoon that every region, outside of Auckland will move to Alert Level 2 at 11:59pm on 7 September.
This is welcome news, however, Level 2 this time comes with some new restrictions, including mandatory mask use by both customers and employees in customer contact businesses like hospitality, a new maximum indoor occupancy of 50 and the new record keeping requirement. The three ‘s’s’ continue to apply with diners needing to be seated, separated and served by a single server where possible.
Masks will now need to be worn by customers and whilst they can remove them whilst eating and drinking, they will need to have them on when entering or leaving the establishment and to use the bathrooms.
We know that getting back up and running within these new restrictions of Level 2 will have challenges, and we have the guidance and templates you need to help. We are also mindful that Auckland remains at Level 4 until next week and we will continue to lobby for more support for businesses by way of targeted fiscal assistance to help cover fixed costs and compensate for revenue losses.
A reminder of the Golden Rules for Level 2:
- Indoor seating restricted to a maximum of 50 people (this is a new limit)
- Outdoor spaces may have up to 100 people
- Face-coverings must be worn in public venues – customers may remove their masks to eat and drink (new)
- All staff in customer contact businesses must wear a mask (new)
- Record keeping is mandatory
- The 3 S’s apply, this is Seated, Separated, Single Server
Download the Guidelines for Operating at Level 2 here – updated 6 September, 2021
Note, This guidance has been reviewed to include updated requirements announced for Level 2 However, we have raised a number of questions for clarification and this may mean the advice is updated slightly when additional clarification is received.