Auckland's libraries, pools and recreational centres, as well as the Maritime Museum and Art Gallery, will close for two weeks from today in line with Government recommendations to constrain the spread of COVID-19.

Making the announcement today, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said the decision was made with regret, but it was both important and necessary.

“Our main concern right now is to protect people’s health and wellbeing and we are doing this by limiting large crowd interactions where the chance of virus spread is high,” he said.

“Our 55 libraries across Auckland receive over 250,000 visits a week, while there are 200,000 visits a week to our swimming pools and leisure centres.

“The services we are closing are highly used and much loved by our communities, but these are not services which have to be maintained to provide the necessities of life.

“I want people to know that this wasn’t an easy decision. However, we get far too many people through the door at these facilities to be able to run them safely in light of the current situation.

“The closure will be for a period of two weeks initially, extended as required depending on the evolving situation with COVID-19 and the advice of Government. The facilities will be closed to the public from later today.

“Our actions follow the recommendations from the Government around the need to keep public gatherings, wherever possible, below 100 people indoors.

“Maintaining social distancing in a library situation is difficult and I am conscious that many library users are older people more vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19.

“Over the coming fortnight, we will consider what other creative options may be available to enable some services to be reinstated,” Phil Goff said.

“This is a great opportunity for people to sign up for our e-lending services like audiobooks, video streaming services and learning databases like Lynda.com.

“There will be no fines on overdue library items while the closures are in place.

Parks, Arts, Community and Events Committee Chair Councillor Alf Filipaina said, “We need to ensure that we limit the spread of COVID-19 as far as possible.

“This will help ensure our people and our communities stay safe. It is about the community.”

Councillor Cathy Casey says, “To close our much loved and well used facilities is a major step for Auckland Council. Our priority must be to follow Ministry of Health guidance and keep Aucklanders safe.”

Other bodies funded by council that run independently under their own legislation like the Museum will make announcements around how they will comply with new requirements.

“We will work with staff affected by these changes over the coming days to look at opportunities for redeployment across our network of services.

“These decisions will not affect the employment of permanent staff, full or part time. Where staff time is freed up, we will look at how they may be able to assist in other areas such as support for District Health Boards, where pressures may grow if the impact of COVID-19 worsens,” Phil Goff said.

The council is also reviewing its wider network of community facilities, including community centres, community art galleries and venues for hire, to ensure that from Monday 23 March these facilities only support classes, activities, programmes and events that allow for social distancing within government guidelines.

The council will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and regularly review its position. For the latest information regarding cancellations and closures, visit ourauckland.nz.

For the most up-to-date government response information please go to covid19.govt.nz

Notes for editors:

RFA’s theatres and conventions spaces will also be closed. This includes:

• The Civic
• The Herald Theatre and the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatres in Aotea Centre
• Auckland Town Hall
• The Bruce Mason Centre
• Shed 10 and The Cloud.

While the government directive on indoor gatherings covers the next two weeks, these buildings will stay closed until the Ministry of Health advises it is safe to reopen.

Still open

Recognising how important it is for Auckland families to have safe places to visit and connect, Auckland Zoo remains open as an open-air venue, as we can meet the Ministry of Health’s requirement of a maximum of 500 people.

Mitigation measures:

• The Zoo has increased the frequency of our cleaning regime across all staff and public areas
• Group activities, such as daily animal keeper talks, are on hold
• Indoor spaces where social distancing is difficult to achieve are closed
• Seating in open cafés has been set up for social distancing and professionally sanitised utensils, cutlery and vessels are used (no reusable cups).

More detail here: https://www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/covid-19-response)

RFA’s Mt Smart, Western Springs and North Harbour stadiums remain open for outdoor activities that comply with Ministry of Health recommendations.

At Aotea Centre, the Box Café and the foyer area will remain stay open for community activities, with safe social distancing in place.

Venues funded by Auckland Council but operating independently:

• Effective today, MOTAT will close.
• Auckland War Memorial Museum stays open.

The closures do not include the early childhood education centres and out of school care (OSCAR) programmes.

Council will continue to follow Ministry of Education guidance when it comes to educational facilities.

This will not affect water collection services currently provided to drought-affected areas.

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