Updated 29 June, 2021
The Government have confirmed that Wellington will return to Alert Level 1 at 11.59pm on Tuesday 29 June. In addition, the Government have announced has announced that from 11.59pm on Sunday, July 4, the pause on the transtasman bubble will lift for the states of South Australia, ACT, Tasmania and Victoria.
Further detail on the current situation:
An Australian traveller from Sydney who visited Wellington from Saturday 19 June to Monday 21 June, 2021 has tested positive upon return to Australia.
As a result of the travel to Wellington by this person:
- The Wellington region (including Wairarapa and Kapiti Coast) is at Alert Level 2 from 6pm, 23 June, 2021. This will remain in place until 11.59am Tuesday 29 June, 2021. (NOTE, this alert level 2 for Wellington was extended – originally proposed to end at 11.59pm on Sunday). The decision to extend was taken on the basis that more information is required before deciding to drop back to Alert Level 1.
- The rest of New Zealand is at Level 1.
- The Government has announced that the Resurgence Support Payment will be activated as a result of the Level 2 extension.
Download the Guidelines for Operating at Level 2 here.
Some of the key Level 2 measures are:
- The 3 s’ =
- seated (customers to be seated and table service only at licenced businesses)
- separated (1 metre physical distancing between groups / tables)
- single server (only one person to serve each group, where practicable)
- Overall limit of 100 people per ‘separate defined space’
Is your business a location of interest or unable to operate at Level 2?
There are now a number of locations of interest in Wellington available here.
If you are contacted by the Ministry of Health, or an employee is contacted by Ministry of Health, you should follow all MOH Guidelines, including this general guidance. The Restaurant Association also has guidance, including: [note, these are member-only resources, so make sure you are logged in first]
- Employee Payments and temporary closures overview – updated June 2021 – this package of information includes guidance and letter templates
- Dealing with a probable or confirmed Covid-19 case in the workplace
- Cleaning your premises following a probable or confirmed case
- Closedown Checklist – a practical guide
- Covid-19 media survival guide
What support payments are available?
- The Resurgence Support Payment has been activated. Applications can be made from 8am Thursday 1 July, for one month after a nationwide return to Alert Level 1. Applications are made on the IRD website, with payments made within 24 hours in most cases. A business or organisation must have experienced at least a 30% drop in revenue or a 30% decline in capital-raising ability over a 7-day period, due to the increased COVID-19 alert level. Eligible businesses and organisations can apply to receive the lesser of:
- $1,500 plus $400 per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee, up to a maximum of 50 FTEs
- four times (4x) the actual revenue decline experienced by the applicant.
- The Covid-19 Short-Term Absence Payment is available for businesses, to help pay their workers who cannot work from home while they wait for a Covid-19 test result. There’s a one-off payment of $350 for each eligible worker.
- If the employee is off sick with Covid-19, caring for someone with Covid-19, or have been required to isolate because of Covid-19, the Covid-19 Leave Support Scheme is available for employers, including self-employed people, to help pay their employees who need to self-isolate and can’t work from home. The scheme is paid as a lump sum and covers 2 weeks per eligible employee, up to $1176.60 for people who were working 20 hours or more per week.
You should also communicate with your employees that it is a requirement for them to let you know if they have been contacted by the Ministry of Health. Here is our updated Employee Wellbeing Policy which covers this.[this is a member-only resource, you will need to be logged in to view]