November 2021

Tēnā koutou

I hope everyone’s managing to stay safe and well, despite COVID-19 seeming to have established itself in Auckland. There are more and more cases being confirmed around the city, so all the more reason for everyone to get double vaccinated just as soon as they possibly can – and encourage family and friends to do so at their earliest opportunity, too. Only when 90% o eligible people in Auckland’s three District Health Board areas are ‘double-jabbed’ will we be able to move into the new COVID-19 Protection Framework ‘traffic light’ system and start working our way out of lockdown restrictions.

There’s much at stake, so we’re devoting this edition to everything COVID-related, which also includes an open letter to tenants from the Haumaru Housing Board in support of the call for everyone to be vaccinated and our policies around this.

If you’ve any questions about the vaccine or want to book your appointment over the phone, call the COVID Vaccination Healthline on 0800 28 29 26. They’re available 8am–8pm, seven days a week and have translation services in over 40 languages.

So please act now for your own sake and for those you care about.

Ngā mihi maioha

Gabby Clezy,

Chief Executive Officer

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An open letter to tenants from the Haumaru Housing Board

Dear tenants

As you will be aware, the Government has been encouraging everyone in New Zealand to become vaccinated against COVID-19, to reduce the risk of this highly infectious virus from spreading further and making more people ill. This is becoming particularly urgent now, as the nation moves away from an ‘elimination’ strategy and towards ‘living’ with the virus in the community. For this reason, as many of us as possible need to be vaccinated, for our own health and that of our loved ones.

Service providers are now looking to the future and considering how to protect their customers and staff once society reopens and returns to a life where COVID will be ever present. At Haumaru Housing, we’re also working on a ‘roadmap’ for how we can keep our tenants and staff safe as they go about their daily activities.

The Haumaru Housing Board fully supports the call for everyone to be vaccinated. We’re promoting (and, in many cases, mandating) high levels of vaccination within our

workforce, and we’ve developed a COVID-19 vaccination policy for all our Haumaru staff members as well as the contractors who provide services to tenants on our behalf. As a responsible landlord, we take our health and safety obligations extremely seriously and will do everything practicable to protect all our Haumaru communities.

So that we’re in the best position to assess whether our staff or contractors need to take any additional precautions form your safety whenever they’re interacting with you, we’ll be writing to ask you to let us know if you’re vaccinated. Providing this information to us is entirely voluntary, of course. Please be assured that any details you give us (regardless of your vaccination status) will not affect your ongoing tenancy in any way.

Whilst we’ll not expressly require that tenants are vaccinated, we’ll continue to encourage all our villagers to get the vaccine, as it’s been well established that older persons or those with underlying health conditions and/or compromised immunity have a higher risk of becoming severely ill if they catch COVID-19. If you’ve not yet had the opportunity to get the vaccination, please consider prioritising this in the coming days in order to protect yourself and those you care about.

Vaccination will be just one (albeit critically important) aspect of our wider efforts to minimise the spread of the virus. Other effective precautions that serve to provide the maximum protection for staff and tenants include wearing a mask, scanning and keeping a record of visits and travel, social distancing and good hygiene practices such as regular handwashing.

With the approaching summer season – and with the help of society’s high compliance rates in following all the recommended rules and guidelines on keeping safe – we look forward to regaining many of the freedoms we previously enjoyed and to reconnecting in larger gatherings and family groups in COVID-safe environments once again.

Sincerely

Kay Hawk, Board Chair

Haumaru Auckland Ltd

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The COVID-19 Protection Framework:

Our roadmap out of lockdown

Vaccinations can change the way Aotearoa New Zealand manages the COVID-19 virus, and being double vaccinated will open up more opportunities for us. The Government has launched the COVID-19 Protection Framework which will bring us a world where we’re freer to move and live with less disruption, and that offers the stability we need to be able to plan for the future. The Framework introduces a new three-level approach to managing COVID-19 in the community and keeping people safe: Red, Orange, Green (a ‘traffic light’ system of restrictions). This is more flexible and we’ll be able to move up levels, when needed, to control any outbreak. Once 90% of eligible people in each District Health Board region are fully vaccinated with two doses, it’ll be safe to introduce this new Framework which doesn’t rely on complete lockdowns as the main measure to stop the virus spreading. (Auckland will be able to switch over earlier, however, once all three of our DHBs reach the 90% double vaccination target.)

When exactly we shift between levels will depend (amongst other things) on how many people have been vaccinated, the capacity of the health and disability system, testing and how widespread COVID-19 has been transmitted within the community, including its impact on key populations.

So, our future is in our hands – the sooner everyone’s fully vaccinated, the sooner we can all return to some normality and enjoy life again as we used to know it.

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Vaccination certificates

At all levels in the ‘traffic light’ system, people who’ve been vaccinated will be able to access businesses, retail and public facilities and enjoy all events, hospitality and gatherings by showing a vaccine certificate. So it’ll be important that everyone can prove that they’re ‘double jabbed’ (although you won’t need a vaccination certificate to access supermarkets, pharmacies, health services, food banks and petrol stations).

From the end of November, digital vaccination certificates will be available. You may be required to show this as proof of vaccination in various public settings, as businesses, events, organisations, community and a range of sectors may legally choose to implement a vaccination entry requirement for customers.

There’ll be an exemption process for the small number of people who can’t get a vaccination for medical reasons.

For more on digital vaccination certificates, see: covid19.govt.nz/covid-19-vaccines/getting-proof-of-your-vaccination.

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Get fully vaccinated now to enjoy greater freedoms

To enjoy the full life and freedom of travel and movement that everyone in New Zealand deserves, make sure you are double vaccinated. If you want to visit close proximity businesses like hairdressers or go into cafes, restaurants or to church services, for example – no matter the Alert Level or traffic light setting – you’ll need to be vaccinated.

If you’re already vaccinated, do your best to encourage your friends and family to get their two doses as soon as possible, so we can all enjoy life within the new system sooner.

The vaccine is our armour. It will help keep you and the people around you as safe as possible in a COVID world. If you’re vaccinated, you’re less likely to catch the virus and much less likely to end up in hospital if you do. It also helps protect everyone else.

If you’re not vaccinated, there’ll be everyday things that you’ll miss out on.

The more people who are vaccinated, the harder it is for COVID to spread through communities quickly and find our most vulnerable. COVID-19 seeks out those who are unvaccinated and is much more harmful to those who are unimmunised. That’s why everyone needs to be vaccinated to save lives.

For a list of vaccination clinics around Auckland, visit the HealthPoint website at healthpoint.co.nz/covid-19 and browse for your area. You don’t need an appointment, but if you want to make one, you can book via Book My Vaccine:

bookmyvaccine.covid19.health.nz.

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The vaccine used in New Zealand is safe and effective.

You can get accurate information about your free COVID-19 vaccine from these trusted websites:

• covid19.govt.nz/covid-19-vaccines

• health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines

• karawhiua.nz (information for Māori communities)

• mpp.govt.nz/covid-19 (Ministry for Pacific Peoples website)

• facebook.com/MinistryforPacificPeoples

Always make sure you get the latest news and updates from reliable sources and don’t trust in ‘hearsay’ or unfounded speculation. If you’ve any questions about the vaccine or want to book your appointment over the phone, talk to the COVID Vaccination Healthline 8am–8pm, seven days a week. Translation services are available in over 40 languages. Call 0800 28 29 26.

Need a hand?

Contact us on 0800 430 101