GDC drops vaccine pass requirement

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Members of the public will no longer have to use a vaccine pass to access Gisborne District Council community facilities.

The change comes into effect at 11.59pm tomorrow, and follows the government decision last week to loosen vaccine pass requirements.

Passes had been required at council facilities since December 3 to protect the health and wellbeing of the community, council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said.

That included the customer services centre, Olympic Pool complex, HB Williams Memorial Library, theatres and campsites.

“As the operator of multiple community facilities, the council took a very serious approach to reducing the risk of infection from Covid-19,” Ms Thatcher Swann said.

“We undertook thorough risk assessments across our facilities and implemented measures in line with health and safety legislation and guidance from the Government.”

The decision to introduce the passes was made at a time when Tairāwhiti had one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. Ms Thatcher Swann said the council had continually reviewed the requirement for vaccine passes with the onset of the Omicron variant.

“We will continue to require masks and use a range of tools to help reduce the risk of transmission.”

There are 250 new Covid cases in Tairāwhiti today, and one person is in hospital. There are 1763 active cases in our community.