Staff as Omicron looms

It meant Marlborough’s libraries were open with restrictions on the number of people allowed in the buildings; these restrictions were 100 people in Blenheim and 50 in Picton.

The council’s stance is in contrast to other councils. On the West Coast, the regional council this week decided to shut its offices under the red setting of the Government’s Covid-19 traffic light system.

Under the Government’s framework, public facilities such as libraries, art galleries and museums can choose whether to ask for a vaccine certificate at any traffic light level.

In other areas, such as Christchurch, Auckland, Tasman District,

Nelson and New Plymouth, vaccine passes are required in order to enter council libraries.

Marlborough mayor John Leggett said he understood all councillors had been vaccinated and had received boosters where eligible.

‘‘I put it to everybody after a council meeting. Everybody is vaccinated, that’s my understanding,’’ he said.

Leggett said despite some councils having vaccine mandates for staff, it was not a path they wanted to go down. ‘‘But of course, any staff that are fronting the public have got to be vaccinated, otherwise they have to work off site or in a position where they aren’t a risk to the public,’’ he said.

He said the council’s stance on vaccination was something it monitored daily.

‘‘We have to keep it under review, and the reality is things are starting to tighten up around the traffic light requirements, and we’ll react and do what we need to do to comply with all of the requirements,’’ he said.

‘‘We still want people to take personal responsibility, and that’s a message the Government are really pushing as well.

‘‘There are individual responsibilities, and we all have to a part of it.’’

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.