COVID-19 response: Tuesday 17 March 2020

The health and safety of our tauira and kaimahi at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi is our highest priority. To this end, we are taking all precautions necessary to prevent COVID-19 in our community.

Awanuiārangi Response Group
Awanuiārangi has convened a dedicated Group to manage this issue on behalf of our organisation. The Response Group will meet on a weekly basis or as often as needed to ensure that any necessary decisions are made in a timely manner and in the best interests of our tauira and kaimahi. The Response Group is being led by Awanuiārangi Chief Executive, Professor Wiremu Doherty.

We will provide our tauira and kaimahi with updates every Friday, or as often as needed, via email, social media and the news section of our website. We encourage you to check your student emails regularly for any updates.

Awanuiārangi is following official guidelines from the Ministry of Health (MoH) as we co-ordinate our response to COVID-19 to ensure the wellbeing of our community. You will be familiar with some of these guidelines already and these are listed towards the end of this pānui.

What does COVID-19 mean for Awanuiārangi?
Effective today, Awanuiārangi has put in place the following measures:

• Noho
  The following noho will be conducted by Zoom. This means Tauira are required to stay away from campus, i.e. stay home and join the delivery using Zoom technology.
• Professional Doctorate – Thursday 19 March until Sunday 22 March 2020
• Bachelor of Humanities - Friday 20 March until Sunday 22 March
• Bachelor of Education – Monday 23 March until Friday 27 March 2020.
• Bachelor of Humanities - Friday 27 March until Sunday 29 March

Further information including details to connect via Zoom will be communicated to tauira by National Programme Co-ordinators. Where possible, other noho may be delivered this way and we will keep tauira notified accordingly.

Delivery of programmes

• Unless otherwise communicated, classes and lectures are being held as planned. Changes to delivery of other programmes will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis should the need arise.
• The potential to use zoom for delivery of programmes at Awanuiārangi is currently being investigated and we will communicate details to you in due course, as needed.
• We have some strong business continuity plans in place for the wānanga and we will implement those as necessary to ensure minimal impact on delivery of programmes and classes to our tauira.

Travel

• Decisions regarding any necessary travel will be made on a case-by-case basis.
• If staff or students do need to travel outside of the country, for business or personal reasons, they will need to self-isolate for a period of 14 days immediately upon arrival back to New Zealand, as per the measures announced by the Government.

Hongi
Please refrain from hongi or shaking hands at the conclusion of Pōwhiri on Awanuiārangi campuses. In terms of tikanga during this time the alternative is karakia then light refreshments.

Graduation
We have postponed our 2020 Graduation. This will now take place on Friday 2 October 2020. Further information will be sent to tauira regarding options for graduating in absentia or in person.

Questions
We have established two points of contact if you have any concerns questions regarding COVID-19
For tauira: ssc@wananga.ac.nz
For kaimahi: COVID-19@wananga.ac.nz

Information through these contact points will enable us to monitor concerns, track overseas and domestic travel plans, and record tauira illness.

Further information
Below is some key information about COVID- 19 and how to protect yourself and others.

For further information on COVID-19, please see the Ministry of Health website: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

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 settle 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

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:

• International SOS
• World Health Organization
• NZ government website

Further precautions, or if you are unwell:

• As always, kaimahi and tauira who are unwell should refrain from attending classes/campus.
• Please practice and encourage thorough hand hygiene in classes and on campus by using soap and water - alcohol hand gels on their own are not sufficient.
• People with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice cough etiquette (maintain distance, cough into your bent elbow if possible). Cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, dispose of tissues in a rubbish bin, do not reuse them and wash hands.