On Saturday, the Dunedin City Council announced its six public libraries will be closed until further notice and Moana Pool is closed until plans can be put in place to limit numbers and provide suitable physical distancing.
Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins said the pools themselves were not as much an issue as changing rooms but the council needed to "think through" its options.
For now, Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, Lan Yuan — Dunedin Chinese Garden and the Dunedin Public Art Gallery would stay open.
"All of this stuff is subject to change because the situation is evolving, so a decision we made around closing the libraries yesterday was based on the latest national guidance," Mr Hawkins said.
"If this escalates to [the Government’s] alert level 3, that’s the point at which public facilities close more generally, which obviously affects museums and galleries ... getting more than 2m away from someone at the public art gallery or Toitu isn’t particularly challenging."
The Queenstown Lakes District Council would "act swiftly around the inevitable closure of public facilities".
The Wanaka Recreation Centre and the Queenstown Events Centre, the Arrowtown Pool and all district libraries would stay closed until a review on April 6. All council halls would also be closed and all bookings cancelled until further notice.
The Invercargill City Council said Invercargill and Bluff public libraries and Splash Palace would be closed until further notice.
The Southland District Council closed all its area offices, libraries and halls.
The Waitaki District Council announced the Waitaki Aquatic Centre was closed, as were all libraries in the district until Waitaki was back to the Government’s alert level 1.
Environment Southland said it would close its office for a day today and reopen tomorrow as it transitioned to "many of our staff to working from home".
The Otago Regional Council said its Dunedin office, in Stafford St, would remain open for customer service.
The Queenstown office would temporarily close as would the office at Philip Laing House, in Dunedin.
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Comments
Mr Hawkins you really are a wet lettuce! Other councils have already closed ALL public facilities as they try and get ahead of this thing. It's time to be a shepard, not a sheep! We need our council to follow national guidelines but also deal with local issues at a local level and take extra measures to protect our health and livelihoods. The Council has had weeks to prepare for this crisis yet we are still waiting for help. I sit in self isolation with my business going down the drain and all you can tell me is that you will close the museums when you are told to do so. You can start today with the announcement of a rates freeze with deferment options for business and self employed.
I could go on but to be honest I don't think you are really up to the job. Bob Parker showed what a Major can do for a city in a crisis but you seem to be more like the captain of the Titanic!
Thank goodness for Jacinda! Turns out she has bigger balls than our Mayor!