COVID-19

COVID-19 response: Monday 23 March 2020

Published date : Mon, 23 March 2020 08:21 pm

Awanuiārangi closes all campuses from Tuesday 24 March, online delivery of programmes to continue where possible

Urgent message from Professor Wiremu Doherty, Chief Executive of Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi

The Government has announced New Zealand has been moved to Alert Level 3 in the fight against COVID-19, with a planned move to Level 4 by Wednesday 25 March.

For our kaimahi and tauira, this means that as of Tuesday 24 March:

Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi is closing all of its campuses for a period of four weeks as it works to help stop and eradicate the spread of COVID-19.
Kaimahi and tauira are not permitted on-site on any campus – they must stay home and (if possible) work from home. Information around work arrangements will be managed through your line managers.
No classes will be conducted this week (Monday 23 March – Sunday 29 March) so we can focus on establishing best practice to teach remotely.
Noho already organised to take place via Zoom are to continue, online only.

These measures will be reviewed in four weeks and any decisions will follow official Government advice.

In the meantime, we will be reviewing all our programmes to determine which ones can continue at this time, including identifying resources required to support online delivery.

Service area line managers will work with their kaimahi to determine what work can be done during this time.

Despite the challenges, we remain focused on getting the right planning, systems and processes in place to ensure we can continue to deliver teaching and learning.

The health, safety and well-being of our kaimahi and tauira is our biggest priority. So, we urge you all to follow official Government advice.

Further updates will be communicated to tauira and kaimahi on Wednesday 25 March, if not earlier.

Why do we need to take these measures?

The Government today announced that it is likely that there is transmission of COVID-19 in the community. Read the full update from the Government here.

These are unprecedented times and we need to respond quickly and adapt to the current situation and we are committed to working with you as we do so.

These measures are important to stop and eradicate the spread of the disease.

Alternative ways to work during this time

We need you to work and study from home if you can.

Decisions will made over the coming days about further changes to delivery of classes. Any updates will be communicated to tauira and kaimahi. Kaimahi, through their line managers, will be included in finding alternatives to delivery.

On Thursday 19 March we trialled a full closure of our Tāmaki campus. This went well. We also trialled delivery of our Professional Doctorate and Bachelor of Humanities programmes over this weekend and the Bachelor of Education is being trialled online as of Monday 23 March.

On Saturday 21 March we announced a one-week suspension of all classes as we prepared for alternative online delivery.

What our kaimahi need to do:

Stay home – all campuses are closed. Don’t come to campus. All non-essential businesses are to close (except for essential services – e.g. supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics, lifeline utilities). All indoor and outdoor events are cancelled.
If you can work from home, do so. If you cannot work from home, please get in touch with your line manager. Contact us on COVID-19@wananga.ac.nz to let us know if you are working from home or to provide any updates relating to COVID-19.
Please make sure you have provided us with your current mobile number and email address. We will need to be able to contact you if there is any COVID-19 related emergency, in particular if we need to contact trace. Email us at: COVID-19@wananga.ac.nz (kaimahi).
Tell tauira (and their tamariki), visitors, contractors, anyone who may be planning to come to campus, not to come to campus.
Keep your physical distance from others – at least 2 metres.
Maintain high levels of hygiene everywhere. Follow all the precautions advised by the Government and Ministry of Health.
Limit all non-essential travel.
Call the dedicated COVID-19 Healthline number for advice if you have flu-like symptoms: 0800 358 5453.
Phone Employee Assistance Programme on 0800 EAP NOW (0800 327 669) if you need support. Go to Home | EAP Services Limited for further information.
For comprehensive and up-to-date information visit the Government website: https://covid19.govt.nz/
Please continue to check your emails and follow the Awanuiārangi website and Facebook page for all the latest Awanuiārangi-related updates.

What our tauira need to do:

Stay home – all campuses are closed. Don’t come to campus. All non-essential businesses are to close (except for essential services – e.g. supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics, lifeline utilities). All indoor and outdoor events are cancelled.
If you were scheduled to have classes onsite this week, contact your kaiako to establish plans for online delivery of classes.
Please make sure you have provided us with your current mobile number and email address. We will need to be able to contact you if there is any COVID-19 related emergency, in particular if we need to contact trace. Email us at ssc@wananga.ac.nz.
Contact us on ssc@wananga.ac.nz if you have any concerns relating to COVID-19.
Keep your physical distance from others.
Limit all non-essential travel.
Maintain high levels of hygiene everywhere. Follow all the precautions advised by the Government and Ministry of Health.
Keep physical distance from others – 2 metres.
Self-isolate if you have returned from overseas.
Self-isolate if you have flu-like symptoms.
Call the dedicated COVID-19 Healthline number for advice if you have flu-like symptoms: 0800 358 5453.
For comprehensive and up-to-date information visit the Government website: https://covid19.govt.nz/
If you have any concerns or questions, email: COVID-19@wananga.ac.nz (kaimahi) or ssc@wananga.ac.nz (tauira).
Please continue to check your emails and follow the Awanuiārangi website and Facebook page for all the latest Awanuiārangi-related updates.

Spark, Vodafone and 2Degrees have announced initiatives for working from home that will allow people to continue working online as much as possible. See links below:

Please contact your own provider for more details. If you are with other providers, we encourage you to do the same to see what they’re offering.

Current situation

Updates on case numbers can be found here.

The Government’s four-level COVID-19 alert system is as follows:

Level 1 – Prepare: Disease is contained
Level 2 – Reduce: Disease is contained, but risks of community transmission growing
Level 3 – Restrict: Heightened risk that disease is not contained
Level 4 – Eliminate: Likely that the disease is not contained

As at Monday 23 March, New Zealand has been moved up to COVID-19 alert Level 3, with a move to level 4 in 48 hours

For more detail on the alert system go to:

https://covid19.govt.nz/assets/COVID_Alert-levels_v2.pdf

Strict measures announced:
Stay home.
Work from home (if you can).
Non-essential domestic travel to be limited wherever possible.
No mass indoor or outdoor gatherings.

Further information on COVID-19

Below is some key information about COVID- 19 and how to protect yourself and others. For all information, visit: https://covid19.govt.nz/

How it spreads

COVID-19 can be transmitted from person to person through droplets. When an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks, they may generate droplets containing the virus. Large droplets will quickly on surrounding surfaces.

Droplet-spread diseases can be spread by:

coughing and sneezing
close personal contact
contact with an object or surface with viral particles on it and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.

Prevention - how to protect yourself and others

You can take some simple steps to help stop the spread of diseases like COVID-19.

Avoid close contact with people with cold or flu-like illnesses.
Cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, or cough into your bent elbow if possible
Wash hands for at least 20 seconds with water and soap and dry them thoroughly:

before eating or handling food
after using the toilet
after coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose or wiping children's noses
after caring for sick people.

Below are two videos on correct hand washing technique and coughing etiquette.

Coughing etiquette video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2jbEetZ8G4
Hand washing technique - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IisgnbMfKvI

Useful resources

If you have any questions, please call Healthline on 0800 358 5453. It's free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Note, Healthline's main number for non-coronavirus health concerns is 0800 611 116. These contact numbers will connect you to professional health advice and information.

Other useful resources include:

Return to main COVID-19 Response Page