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An event planner criticized the Health Minister for telling Auckland residents not to attend a conference, advice that went against official guidelines.
During the daily coronavirus update, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said “no” when asked if he was comfortable with Auckland residents attending a conference in Queenstown this weekend.
However, guidelines on the official Covid-19 website said that conference events in Auckland could have up to 100 attendees. Hipkins said those who traveled outside of Auckland should bring their alert level restrictions with them.
The country is at Covid-19 Alert Level 2, however Auckland has additional restrictions under Alert Level 2.5, which refer to the number of people attending social gatherings.
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ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Health Minister Chris Hipkins said Auckland residents should “carry their alert level restrictions” with them when traveling to other parts of New Zealand.
“The alert level restrictions in Auckland suggest that you should not attend meetings of more than 10 people. If Auckland residents travel to other parts of the country, the same rule should apply to them, ”said Hipkins.
He admitted that these kinds of restrictions were not “100% enforceable”, but asked people to “do the right thing.”
However, official guidelines state that up to 100 people can attend public areas and event venues, provided they stay in groups of no more than 10 and are kept at least one meter apart. These figures exclude those who work for the event.
This included conference venues, as well as swimming pools, gyms, libraries, museums, cinemas, theaters, stadiums, concert halls, and casinos.
Terri van Schooten, CEO of event planning organization Verve, said Hipkins’s “impromptu remarks” discredited the government and the reliability of the government’s Covid-19 online resources.
“This statement is not only incorrect, it is misinformed and incredibly damaging to the events industry as a whole, which is already decimated.”
The information on the Covid-19 website was clear in differentiating social gatherings from visits to event venues, he said.
The Hipkins office has been contacted for clarification.
It is not the first time that the government has been in trouble for incorrect messages.
The Health Ministry has conducted an internal review on how a message was issued on Saturday encouraging everyone in South and West Auckland to get tested for Covid-19.
About 700,000 people live in the west and south of Auckland. The message remained online until Sunday morning, when questions were raised about it.
The message differs substantially from the official health advice, which is that only people who have symptoms or are in contact with cases should be tested, along with other asymptomatic tests.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern previously said the mistake was a case of “oversimplified communication.”
“You asked a question that was not correct. We are not asking everyone in the west and south of Auckland to take an exam. That is not our question.
“It’s wrong. It was very simplified and now we are working very hard to deal with what that has created with the community.”
On Wednesday, Chief Health Officer Dr. Ashley Bloomfield said the message should have been signed by a senior official before going public.
“A mistake was made and a senior responsible official should have signed it as a final step. That didn’t happen; we are putting processes in place to make sure that doesn’t happen again. “
