Council’s facilities and services with Omicron in the community

Darren Petry from Taupō District Council

With Omicron cases continuing to rise in the community, council’s services and facilities will likely be affected as positive cases and self-isolation situations inevitably arise, says chief executive Gareth Green.

“Our staff and contractors are impacted by Covid-19 restrictions in the same way that our communities are, and as cases rise this will start having an impact on the services and facilities we provide for our communities.

“We are doing our best to be agile and are already seeing some of these effects at our facilities, but please bear with us as it may be at short notice that our services changes or facilities close or amend their operations due to staff numbers,” Mr Green said.

Facilities (including libraries, the Events Centre, Great Lake Centre, Owen Delany Park, museum and pools) may close or amend their operations at short notice because of a Covid-19 positive situation or because staff are self-isolating. Programmes may also be reduced.

Rubbish and recycling kerbside collection may be affected as drivers and sorters may be required to self-isolate. The priority is to ensure rubbish collection continues as normal so while we will still collect recycling, on some occasions, this may be required to go to landfill. If you would prefer to do so, you can continue to stockpile it until we resume services.

Bus services may also need to amend their schedule if drivers need to self-isolate.

“We all really appreciate your understanding as we work through the continuing rise in cases. We will be focused on providing our critical services to our communities while keeping our staff and community safe,” Mr Green said.

Changes may be at short notice so updates will be provided via facebook, antenno, our e-Newsletter and website as well as through local media.