In Case You Missed It: Email Newsletter 77

As you have no doubt heard in the media, the highly infectious Delta strain has spread to more than 132 countries. While New Zealand has certainly been lucky, we wouldn’t want to rely on luck and be caught unprepared if it does appear in the community. We hope that doesn’t happen but if it does, we would move immediately into Alert Level 4.

We want to reassure you that if this happened, we have a plan and below you’ll find a summary of what we would do. 
 
But how soon is ‘immediate’? What timeline are we talking about? The government does not say specifically and while we can assume that there would at least be a 48-hour window like the 1st one back in March 2020, the language the government has used to describe its likely response- “swift and severe in the event we would see a case emerge in the community”– can mean a possibly shorter time, hence the importance of making sure we are prepared.
 
It’s important to point out that a lot of the information about Alert Level 4 from 2020 has changed. This is because the government says that ‘any possible future move into Alert Level may look different’ so make room for the possibility that what was done in 2020 may be different in a new scenario that involves a more virulent strain of the virus.
 
However, the range of measures that can be applied locally or nationally are familiar:

• People are instructed to stay at home in their bubble other than for essential personal movement.
• Safe recreational activity is allowed in local area.
• Travel is severely limited.
• All gatherings are cancelled and all public venues are closed.
• Businesses are closed except for essential services - for example, supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics, petrol stations and lifeline utilities will stay open.
• Educational facilities are closed.
• Rationing of supplies and requisitioning of facilities is possible.
• Reprioritisation of healthcare services.

For more information about the government’s updated Covid Alert System, please click here

What does Alert Level 4 mean for the Association?

All NZMCA Parks would be closed
This is for the safety of both members and Park Custodians. If you are in an NZMCA Park and the alert level change to Level 4, please make your way to family and friends as soon as you can. There are NO exceptions to this safety requirement, which is consistent with other Government department decisions. All DOC campsites would most likely be closed effective immediately as well. 

Why can’t we stay in an NZMCA Park during the lockdown? Can I stay in a commercial campground during the lockdown? Please click here for the answers

Closure of National Office with staff working remotely
National Office would be closed for the safety of members and staff. Staff would work remotely and communication by email and phone would still be available, but some office processes would not be able to be carried out. In particular, membership cards would not be able to be printed or mailed. Want to contact us? To find a specific National Office contact, look for ‘Contact Us’ on the bottom right hand corner which is on every website page. On the NZMCA app, tap on More, then tap on the email icon.

Same goes for the Covi NZMCA Insurance team who would work from home and would request that ALL communication be done via email - [email protected] or via the CONTACT US section on the Covi website https://www.covi.co.nz/contact-us/. Please check your junk or spam folders for Covi communication. 
 
Regular updates
We would keep the NZMCA website or our official Facebook page updated. You would receive email updates as well when necessary. 
 
Suspension of all CSC Certification
Self-containment inspections for both members and commercial partners would cease until further notice.