Covid 19 coronavirus: Auckland pools remain closed due to water restrictions

Aucklanders desperate to hit the city's public pools will have to wait a while longer with the facilities to remain closed while water restrictions are in place.

Auckland Council's libraries, pools, leisure centres and community centres have been closed over the last seven weeks of alert levels 4 and 3.

At level 2, such facilities are allowed to reopen, however the council announced they would would reopen in stages rather than all at once, to ensure they were "safe and manageable".

But yesterday chief executive Stephen Town announced due to water restrictions coming into force on Saturday council-owned and operated swimming pools would remain closed.

Auckland's water storage dams have dropped below 45 per cent on the back of an extremely dry start to the year.

The restrictions, designed to cut overall use by 5 per cent, include a ban on the use of outdoor hoses for activities like watering gardens and washing cars and the use of water blasters, except for essential cleaning work.

"We know this will disappoint keen swimmers, however we play an important role in Auckland's efforts to conserve water and want to lead by example," Town said.

Swimmers will still be able to visit the council's partner-led facilities, which will reopen.

Most fitness centres will open next Thursday, as will the council's early childhood education centres and after school programmes, which open on Monday.

There will be limits to the number of people allowed in the facilities and a QR code contactless check-in process for anyone who wants to enter any of our buildings.

"We'll have staff members available to help our customers through the check-in process if they don't have a mobile phone or the technology to complete the online form themselves," Town said.

Next week will see 21 council-run community venues open again, with another nine of these available for hire from May 18.

The council was looking at how regional and local events could be supported under level 2, when only gatherings of no more than 10 people are permitted.

Council cemeteries opened yesterday, and cemetery offices will be open to the public from today.

In line with revised guidelines from the Government, 50 people will be allowed to go to a funeral home and attend a chapel service or burial.

On Wednesday 31 of the city's 55 libraries will reopen.

Mayor Phil Goff said it was important people followed guidelines around contact tracing and hygiene while using council facilities.

"The last thing we want is another outbreak."

As businesses restarted Goff also encouraged people to try different start times.

Safe physical distancing on buses, trains and ferries meant people could not all turn up at the same time.

"This might mean staggering start and finish times and providing options for employees to travel off peak if possible.

"We should also encourage the option of people spending part of their work week working from home where they can do so productively."

In Auckland, passengers on trains, buses and ferries will have allocated seats – which will mean seated capacity of around 43 per cent.

Auckland Transport also displays how many people are on a bus or train service at any given time on its mobile app or the journey planner on its website.

Staggering start times could also reduce congestion at peak times and ensure the city centre was accessible for commuters and customers, Heart of the City CEO Viv Beck said.

A full list of council facilities to open next week can be found here.