Police updated their guidelines today. They have increased the social distancing requirement between groups of up to ten to two metres from one metre but the 100 person limit has been removed pending the size of a venue.
Alert Level 2 Restrictions
Physical distancing is a key measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The Order retains restrictions to ensure physical distancing, both for ‘businesses and services’, and for gatherings outside of a business or service.
“Businesses and services must ensure that all people who enter the workplace or use its services remain 2 metres away from each other” (cl 10(2)(a)). Some businesses and services may allow 1 metre physical distancing, with special rules applying (cl 11 – 13).
Gatherings of more than 10 people (in public and private activities) are restricted, but these restrictions do not apply where people remain 2 metres away from each other to the greatest extent practicable (cl 15).
Alert Level 2 impact on “Places of Worship”.
Places of worship may open under AL2. There are restrictions regarding the number of people who may “gather” within a place of worship. Unless people are kept 2m apart at any religious service (which would then not be a gathering), services are limited to groups of 10 (except for funerals and tangihanga) and (except for gatherings of friends and whanau) records would need to be kept for the purposes of contact tracing.
Depending on the size of a venue, multiple groups of 10 could be present at a service, provided that each group was 2m apart from each other and that each group complied with any record keeping requirements (depending on whether they were a lower risk gathering or a gathering of friends and whanau). This assumes that people involved do comply at all times with the distancing restrictions, and don’t for example mingle more widely at the end of a service. 20 May 2020 Family or whanau who reside together in their household may remain within 2 metres of each other.
Source: COVID-19 – Places of worship Guidelines – 21 May 2020 .pdf
