For the most up-to-date information about the New Zealand COVID-19 situation visit www.COVID19.govt.nz.
As at 11.59pm Monday 22 February, All of New Zealand, moves to Alert Level 1.
At Alert Level 1, you can go to work and school, but should follow public health measures and consider others around you.
All of our offices and libraries are open.
If you have cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms, stay home and call your doctor or Healthline on 0800 358 5453 for advice about getting tested.
By getting a test, you’re helping keep your community safe. Testing is always free for everyone.
Symptoms include:
These symptoms do not necessarily mean you have COVID-19. The symptoms are similar to other illnesses that are much more common, such as colds and flu.
Shortness of breath is a sign of possible pneumonia and requires immediate medical attention.
Click here to find testing centres in the Waikato.
Click here to find testing centres in southern Auckland.
At this stage, rubbish and recycling collections are continuing as normal in most areas.
Waikato District Council is committed to helping our communities run smoothly. We provide a range of services and facilities to the community and the rates you pay allow us to do this.
There are about 30,000 properties in the district on which rates are payable for maintaining 2,434kms of roads, 51 neighbourhood reserves, 43 sports parks, 12 skate parks, six libraries, three swimming pools, and for the planning, licensing and other services that the Council supplies. Our targeted rates also help cover assets like 31 water reservoirs, 10 water treatment plants, 9 wastewater treatment plants, 34 community halls, as well as the refuse services that we supply.
If you are experiencing hardship, please contact Waikato District Council by email to rates@waidc.govt.nz or phone 0800 492 452 to discuss and arrange a payment plan or apply for assistance through rates remission/rates rebate.
All our libraries/ service centres are open. Please visit the Waikato District Libraries Facebook group to confirm opening hours.
Hand sanitiser stations will still be available to use and QR code posters will be in place to help you contact trace.
With the return to Covid Alert level 1 for most of the district, we are now starting to take face-to-face duty planner appointments for the Ngaruawahia Office next week - Mondays-Thursdays as per our normal service.
We will reassess on Monday 22 February whether we start taking bookings for the Tuakau Office Duty Planner Service that we provide normally on Fridays.
Inspections will continue as normal during Level 1 and Level 2.
For more details email building.enquiries@waidc.govt.nz
If you need help with financial assistance, please ring Work and Income on 0800 559 009.
If you are a foreign national in serious hardship due to COVID-19, and are looking for support, please phone 0800 733 276 which is 0800 REDCROSS.
If you require social service support (food grants etc) please visit www.msd.govt.nz or phone 0800 559 009.
If your situation is urgent and you need food within the next 24-48 hours, you can contact a local food bank.
Waikato District Council is operating under the COVID-19 Alert Level 2 guidelines, but is also preparing for any possible move in alert levels.
A report received by Waikato District Council’s Strategy and Finance Committee today clearly highlights the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on Waikato district businesses and the community.
The Hakarimata Summit Track, one of the Waikato’s most popular, has re-opened to the public.
A new Northern Emergency Operating Centre has been set up this week to provide a combined civil defence response as the country moves into Alert Level 2.
Moving to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 tomorrow allows for more freedoms and the opportunity to get out and about, however Waikato District Council and the Department of Conservation have made the decision to keep the Hakarimata Summit Track closed at this stage.
Waikato District Council community facilities will be open as soon as it is safe for our customers and staff to do so as we move into COVID-19 Alert Level 2.
Help has been provided to thousands of individuals and families across the north Waikato during COVID-19.
Waikato, we’ve been in Alert Level 3 for a week. Now is not the time to take our foot off the pedal.
A group of German tourists has thanked the Te Kauwhata community for the support they received while waiting for their flights out of New Zealand. They say they could not have chosen a better place for the lockdown.
With such great uncertainty during COVID-19, Waikato District Council is proud to be working in partnership with vital agencies in our communities to make sure they keep ticking over.
We’ve been at home in our bubbles for four weeks but it’s important to remember that while parts of the economy are opening up under COVID-19 Alert Level 3, that doesn’t mean our social lives can open up too.
The move to Alert Level 3 in New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a welcomed stepping stone on the way to beating COVID-19 but it’s far from the end of the journey.
It’s business as usual and perhaps ground breaking, as Waikato District Council continues to hold its Proposed Waikato District Plan hearings during New Zealand’s Level 4 lockdown.
Waikato mayors say local councils and their partners have “turned over every possible stone” in their bid to secure government money to help rebuild the Waikato economy following Covid-19.
Waikato District Council Chief Executive Gavin Ion has taken a 20% pay cut for the next six months.
With Term 2 starting tomorrow, a bunch of Raglan Area School students now have the tools to learn thanks to help from Waikato district Civil Defence staff.
After less than two weeks of operation, the Waikato Freephone 0800 800 405 has already received hundreds of calls.
Waikato Mayors, Council Chief Executives, Members of Parliament, Iwi leaders and other regional powerbrokers met Monday [06 April] via video link.
Hamilton City Council and Waikato District Council have joined forces to operate a North Waikato Combined Emergency Operations Centre (NWCEOC) to co-ordinate community support during the Covid-19 National State of Emergency.
Freephone 0800 800 405 has been established for Waikato people struggling to get food, groceries, medication or other household goods and services.
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