It's business-as-usual for Hamilton City Council as the Government announces a move to Alert Level 1.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today (17 February) that New Zealand, excluding Auckland, will move to Alert Level 1 from 11.59pm tonight. Auckland will move to Alert Level 2.

Council facilities and services will largely be business-as-usual, with very few changes to its operations.

Contact tracing is encouraged as it was in Alert Level 2. QR codes and manual sign-in sheets will remain on display at all Council facilities for visitors to keep track of where they’ve been.

Chief Executive Richard Briggs congratulates Hamiltonians for adapting so quickly to the changes over the past few days and for playing their part to keep the city and the country safe.

“I was really impressed with how quickly people stepped up and changed their mindset when Alert Level 2 restrictions came into effect. It was this collective effort which saw us move back to level one so quickly.

“I want to acknowledge the tremendous effort our community has put in during this disruption to our day-to-day lives. We saw this week just how fast the situation can change, and we need to keep playing our part to keep us all safe.”

Council is more than ready to move between alert levels and do whatever is necessary to help keep our community free of COVID-19, Mr Briggs said.

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