23 June 2021

Kia ora koutou katoa,

At 6pm today the Wellington region will move to COVID-19 Alert Level Two. This includes Wairarapa and the Kapiti Coast. This alert level will remain in place until at least midnight on Sunday 27 June. The rest of New Zealand remains at Alert Level One.

The change in alert levels follows a visitor from Australia, coming to Wellington last weekend, and then testing positive for COVID-19. 

What to do if you may have come into contact with the infected person

While in Wellington the visitor went to a number of locations. The Ministry of Health has published a list of locations of interest - places the visitor went to and the time they were there.

Anyone who visited any of these locations at the listed times should self-isolate and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 for advice.

If you have COVID-19-like symptoms

If you have cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms you should:

• Stay home and call your doctor or Healthline, for free on 0800 358 5453. 
• Wash your hands
• Sneeze and cough into your elbow, and disinfect shared surfaces often.

Keeping yourself and others safe under Alert Level 2

As a reminder, under Alert Level 2:

• People should maintain physical distancing
• Face masks/coverings must be worn on public transport and in enclosed spaces where physical distancing isn't possible
• Businesses and schools remain open but public health guidance including physical distancing and record keeping need to be maintained
• Mass gatherings will need to be limited to 100 people
• Hospitality businesses must keep groups of customers separated, seated, and served by a single person with a maximum of 100 people at a time.

And regardless of alert level we should all be using the COVID-19 Tracer App, or keeping track of where we've been. It's easy to get complacent over this, but using the app is crucial in helping manage possible outbreaks of COVID-19, and avoiding greater restrictions.

Please continue to share these important actions with the communities you work with and represent. We've been here before and, together we can deal with it!

Where to get more information

The covid19.govt.nz website remains the central source of information and updates on COVID-19. It includes comprehensive information translated into multiple languages. 

Looking after yourselves and each other

Although we've been in this situation before, the change can be unsettling. For anyone who needs it, there is plenty of support available. Details can be found on the COVID-19 website.

As ever our regional teams are here to help. If you need to get in touch with us here is a list of our Regional Managers. We would be delighted to talk with you. 

Northern Region (upper North Island)
Nandita Mathur - 027 299 8031

Central (central and lower-North Island)
Kudakwashe Tuwe - 027 213 5972

Southern Region (South Island)
Shane Whitfield – 029 200 4625

If you prefer, you can reach us by email at ethnic.communities@dia.govt.nz.

Let's hope we can all return to Alert Level 1 soon. I will continue to share information as decisions are made by Government. In the meantime take care of yourselves, your families, loved ones, and wider communities.

Ngā mihi nui
Anusha Guler
Executive Director, Office of Ethnic Communities