UPDATE: Wairoa Council Preparing For Virus Lockdown

Thursday, 5 March 2020, 5:02 pm
Article: Aaron van Delden - Local Democracy Reporter

It is more than 10,000km from the epicentre of a coronavirus outbreak, but Wairoa District Council is preparing for a potential lockdown.

Council staff will this weekend test whether they can use council IT systems remotely, in case an outbreak of the Covid-19 virus forces the closure of council offices.

The test will include software used to run the council’s vital water services, finance and corporate support group manager Gary Borg told yesterday’s finance, audit and risk committee meeting.

The virus outbreak – which originated in Wuhan, China – was discussed throughout the meeting, with zero harm officer Kevin Stevenson saying the situation was changing daily.

There have been more than 90,000 reported cases of the respiratory illness – and 3110 deaths – since it emerged late last year, including two confirmed cases in New Zealand.

Mr Stevenson attended a meeting for Hawke’s Bay councils where the outbreak was discussed three weeks ago and the recommendation was for councils to provide only information.

There was a concern that “if we start doing too much, we will cause panic”, he said.

The council had face masks with speech diaphragms for reception staff and hand sanitiser, but those products could no longer be sourced “for love or money”, Mr Stevenson said.

Goggles and gloves were also on hand to keep council staff safe.

Committee chairman Jeremy Harker said outbreak preparations should be focused on protecting the council’s workforce and a potential civil defence emergency response.

The district’s civil defence controller, Kitea Tipuna, said the council was well on the way to ensuring essential services would continue to operate in the event of an outbreak.

Deputy mayor Hine Flood said people could take steps to protect their health.

Ministry of Health advice is to avoid close contact with people with cold or flu-like illnesses and to cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing.

Hands should be washed for at least 20 seconds with water and soap and dried thoroughly before eating or handling food and after using the toilet; coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose or wiping children’s noses; and caring for sick people.

Mr Stevenson said the council was preparing to roll out its flu vaccine programme.

Last year, 37 council staff signed up for a flu jab, while 50 have asked for one so far this year, with some concern over a potential coronavirus outbreak in New Zealand coinciding with the flu season.

However, the number one risk to staff remained threatening behaviour from members of the public, Mr Stevenson said.

His report notes threats towards library staff have declined in the past five months, after a “small” number of repeat offenders were trespassed.

But threats against the council’s animal control team were up.

Mr Stevenson said it was a common problem at this time of year, in line with the due date for dog registration fees.

Overall, there were 27 health and safety incidents reported by council staff between September and February, including 11 of threatening behaviour.

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