Good morning, we are back to Covid related information for this e-letter. There are some big changes coming up and I have summarised as much of it as I can.
Thanks to everyone that completed our PrintNZ survey - the results are below. As expected the single largest group of respondents came from Auckland, but 60% of the responses are from outside Auckland so there is still a representative view across the country.
The balance of the e-letter centres around upcoming changes with the introduction of the traffic light system, the Vaccine Pass/Verifier app, contractor policy, an updated risk assessment tool, rapid antigen/saliva testing and AstraZeneca vaccines now available.
As always, come back to us if you have any questions or need assistance working through any of this.
SNAPSHOT INDUSTRY SURVEY RESULTS You can download a copy of the results by clicking here. Thanks to those of you that provided the information. There are a broad range of responses and it gives us a good view of the variety of approaches being taken.
VACCINE PASS/VACCINE VERIFIER APP
The My Vaccine Pass became available for everyone to download last week and since then 1.36 million people have created their Pass.
Yesterday the Ministry of Health released the Vaccine Verifier App. If you are going to need to validate vaccine passes as part of your Covid-19 practices, you will need this to verify their validity. The app will scan the QR code on the Vaccine Pass and show a green tick if it recognises it as an official code. This will indicate that the person is either fully vaccinated or has an exemption. Click here for more information and to download the verifier app.
Hospitality, events, gatherings, close contact businesses and gyms will be mandated to use My Vaccine Pass and employees of those businesses need to have their first vaccination by 3 December and be fully vaccinated by 17 January 2022. (It is likely that the list of mandated locations will expand in the coming weeks.)
Businesses outside those areas may choose to use the My Vaccine Pass where they will be interacting with the public. If they choose to use it then all workers at that business will be need to be vaccinated as well, although there will need to be a robust consultation process take place before it is implemented if you are not one of the mandated locations. COVID-19 PROTECTION FRAMEWORK (CPF)
From 3 December the whole of New Zealand moves into the CPF (being referred to as the traffic light system). It is confirmed that Auckland will move in to Red and that no region will move directly to green. Based on vaccination rates there may be a number of regions that join Auckland in red, with everyone else in orange. Attached is a visual reminder of what applies in each setting.
At this time, the My Vaccine Pass will come into play and provide the opportunity for more businesses to open. For our industry the transition should see little change to how you are currently operating.
I have summarised the first two levels of the traffic light system below for (hopefully) easy reading.
Red Traffic Light
With Vaccine Pass
Without Vaccine Pass
Retail
Open - capacity based on 1 metre distancing
Open - capacity based on 1 metre distancing
Public places – libraries and museums
100 people with 1 metre distancing
100 people with 1 metre distancing
Hospitality - cafes, restaurants, bars
100 people with 1 metre distancing
Contactless pickup only
Gatherings – weddings, funerals, church services
100 people with 1 metre distancing
10 people
Events (indoor and outdoor) – markets, concerts, festivals
100 people with 1 metre distancing
Cannot proceed
Gyms
100 people with 1 metre distancing
Cannot open
Early childhood centres/ schools
Open with public health rules
Open with public health rules
Tertiary education
No more than 100 people in the same place with 1 metre distancing
Cannot open
Close contact businesses (no official definition yet available, but includes hairdressers, beauty therapists, barbers etc)
Open, following public health requirements
Cannot open
Orange Traffic Light
With Vaccine Pass
Without Vaccine Pass
Retail
Open - capacity based on 1 metre distancing
Open - capacity based on 1 metre distancing
Public places – libraries and museums, swimming pools
Open - capacity based on 1 metre distancing
Open - capacity based on 1 metre distancing
Hospitality - cafes, restaurants, bars
No limits
Contactless pickup only
Gatherings – weddings, funerals, church services
No limits
50 people based on 1 metre distancing
Events (indoor and outdoor) – markets, concerts, festivals
No limits
Cannot proceed
Early childhood centres/ schools
Open with public health measure
Open with public health measures
Gyms
No limits
Cannot open
Tertiary education
No limits
Cannot open
Close contact businesses (no official definition yet available, but includes hairdressers, beauty therapists, barbers etc)
No limits
Cannot open
.
CONTRACTOR POLICY
A number of people have contacted us with regard to contractors/visitors to your site and whether you can require them to be double vaccinated. The answer is yes you can, but you should also consider whether you would allow a negative Covid test result as an acceptable alternative. We have drafted a policy document that provides for both options which you can adjust to your own settings, and this can then be sent out to your contractors/visitors to ensure they know what is required to comply. If you want a copy of the policy please email linden.hoverd@printnz.co.nz RISK ASSESSMENTS
Businesses are able to undertake a risk assessment for each role to ascertain which roles carry a higher risk of infection/spread. This must be done in good faith in consultation with the workers involved. We have previously provided a risk assessment document as a guideline.
The Government have almost completed their development of a risk assessment tool which will be available in mid-December after legislative changes are made to allow its use.
The tool will specify four key higher risk factors, at least three of which must be met before it would be reasonable to require vaccination for that particular work.
These may be refined over the next few weeks before the tool is released but at the moment they are:
Vulnerable people are defined as:
Under the minimum age to be vaccinated;
Medically exempt from being vaccinated; or
At higher risk of severe illness from Covid-19
This tool won't override risk assessments already done under your existing health and safety guidelines - these will still remain valid and you will be able to choose which tool you use, although the Government tool will provide a legal foothold if your decision is challenged.
At the same time legislation is also being introduced to provide four weeks' paid notice of termination and paid time off to get vaccinated. This gives the employee a final chance to get vaccinated before their employment ends.
REQUIREMENTS BY THIRD PARTIES FOR EMPLOYEES TO BE VACCINATED
Employers can require vaccination where a third party has made this a condition to access their premises to work. However, just like using the risk assessment tool, employers will need to work through any potential employment consequences of requiring vaccination for this reason and follow a robust process.
RAPID ANTIGEN TESTING/SALIVA TESTING
The Rapid Antigen trial is in its final week and then will be handed over to the Ministry of Health for roll out to NZ businesses and community groups. Details of suppliers approved to import rapid antigen tests can be found by clicking here. When they are available for purchase we will let you know how you can obtain them.
For those using saliva testing for surveillance purposes this can now be reduced from twice weekly to once a week and there is no need for a nasal swab to confirm a positive saliva test result.
AND FINALLY
For those that do not wish to have the Pfizer vaccine, the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will be available later this week for those 18 and over. This is also a two dose vaccine with a 4 to 12 week gap between the two jabs. The Government have only purchased a limited number of these so it will only be available at selected vaccination sites. Visit bookmyvaccine.covid19.health.nz or call 0800 28 29 26 to make a booking.
I'm sure that's more than enough information to absorb in one session. I am currently trying to put together a document that will provide some guidance on what would happen if you have a Covid positive case in your workplace - how different groups would be classified and what it would mean for the business.
