Tuesday, 16 November 2021, 4:01 pm Press Release: Hamilton City Council
The hard work has paid off for Hamiltonians as the city
and parts of the Waikato move to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 at
11.59pm tonight (Tuesday 16 November).
Hamilton City
Council is gearing up to resume its remaining operations,
reopening Hamilton Pools, including Waterworld and Gallagher
Aquatic Centre, and resuming normal operating hours at its
community facilities including Hamilton City Libraries and
Hamilton Zoo.
Many of Council’s community facilities
were already operating at reduced capacity under Alert Level
3, Step 2. Physical distancing, maximum visitor numbers,
face coverings and contact tracing measures remain in
place.
Chief Executive Lance Vervoort is extremely
pleased to see the city get back to a sense of
normality.
“The past few months
have been tough for us all and we’ve all worked hard to
follow the rules and reduce the spread of the virus. I know
our local businesses, in particular hospitality, are very
much looking forward to welcoming everyone back. So please
get out there and support local but do so in a way that is a
safe.”
“COVID-19 is still
very much in our community. We’re asking Hamiltonians to
please adhere to the public health guidelines in place if
visiting a Council facility and be kind to our staff and one
another.”
General guidelines at Council facilities
at Alert Level 2
Two-metre physical distancing
will be expected at all Council facilities, with signs and
floor markings in place to help maintain
this.
Visitors will be required to sign in using the
COVID Tracer app or manual sign-in sheet.
Face
coverings to be worn inside public
facilities.
Surfaces will be frequently cleaned, and
hand sanitiser will be available for visitors to
use.
People who are feeling sick or unwell must stay
home.
Key changes to facilities and services at
Alert Level 2
Waikato Museum, Hamilton i-SITE,
ArtsPost, Hamilton Zoo and Hamilton City Libraries’
community branches will resume normal hours on Wednesday 17
November.
The Central Library remains closed for
lift upgrades. The Central Library will operate a pop-up
library from Monday 22 November.
Hamilton Pools,
including Waterworld and Gallagher Aquatic Centre, will
reopen on Wednesday 17 November at 12 noon. The dive pools
and barbeques will remain closed.
The Animal
Education and Control Centre will operate at reduced hours
(one hour each day between 2pm and 3pm) until Saturday 20
November. On Saturday, the centre will resume normal
operating hours (12.30-4.30pm). Adoption visits are by
appointment.
Burials and chapel services have a
limit of 100 people.
Hamilton Cemeteries, Greenwood
and Park Chapels are all open.
Council
meetings
Starting Monday 22 November, Elected
Members will attend Hamilton City Council meetings in person
with some members appearing remotely via Zoom to ensure
appropriate physical distancing while at Alert Level 2. This
also applies to committee meetings, briefings and
workshops.
The meetings and briefings will be live
streamed on the Council’s website for the public to
watch and uploaded to our YouTube
channel.
