Surf lifeguards were back on duty at beaches across Dunedin at the weekend, and will continue to be on patrol from noon-4pm every Saturday, Sunday and public holiday until December 4, when patrols will be extended to 5pm until March 6 next year.
Under the present Covid Alert Level 2, Dunedin beach-goers will have very few restrictions apart from having to wear masks and stay 2m away from people they do not know.
However, Surf Lifesaving Southern regional manager Stu Bryce said if the region moved up to Level 3, lifesaving operations would be quite different.
Swimming between the red and yellow flags may be considered in Level 3, but only on a case-by-case basis to maintain public safety.
These cases could only be approved by the regional lifesaving manager, he said.
Observation and roaming patrols could be provided if clubs could provide the required resources and staffing.
If they were unable to provide a full patrol, or the water conditions were too dangerous for swimming and there was concern for public safety, a red flag would be placed on the beach, which meant swimming would not be allowed.
"You’ve got to remember that a lot of our guys are volunteers and so they may not want to risk their own personal bubbles.
"So if we don’t have the ability to put a patrol on, we’ll put a red flag up.
"Also, if there’s no flags on the beach and you can’t see a flag on the surf life saving building, then chances are there’s no-one watching.
"People need to be aware of that."
If red and yellow flags were present, social distancing was still recommended and swimming numbers may be restricted to ensure appropriate distancing was carried out in the water too.
He said lifeguards would wear masks when performing emergency rescues on the beach and in inflatable rescue boats or jet-skis, but it would not be practical to wear them while swimming, so the aim was to minimise these occurrences in all instances.
Social distancing and bubble requirements meant patrolling teams would operate at safe distances.
Patrols would cease if the region went into a lockdown Alert Level 4 scenario.
However, search and rescue squads would remain on standby and would respond to incidents in all alert levels, 24/7, he said.
