Mid Canterbury residents and visitors are being advised that Council's local facilities and services will resume normal operations this week after the country (excluding Auckland) goes into Alert Level Two from midnight tonight, but there will be some new Delta variant safety measures and restrictions in place.

The Ashburton Public Library, Ashburton Museum and Art Gallery, Council office, and the Resource Recovery Parks will operate at their usual hours, but measures will be in place to ensure physical distancing, personal hygiene, and contact tracing.

The EA Networks Centre will resume operations one day later, on Thursday, 9 September, allowing staff to prepare for how the facility will function under new Alert Level 2 rules and for a local medical centre to carry out booked vaccinations on Wednesday.

At this stage, details regarding specific activities within the Centre are still being reviewed and users of the pool, stadium, and gym, will be notified regarding any changes to levels of service.

At all Council facilities, visitors will be required to scan the COVID-19 QR codes or manually record their visit. Everyone aged 12 and over legally must now keep a record of where they have been when visiting certain places so contact tracing can happen quickly. Hand sanitiser will be stationed throughout Council buildings; and arrows will be displayed on the floor at some facilities where needed to help guide people around for social distancing.

Mask wearing is also mandatory for those visiting our indoor public venues, like the museum, art gallery, and library, and the public area of our administration building, at all Alert Levels.

The district's designated dog exercise areas will be open for pets to run off leash, however they must still remain under the control of their owners at all times.

At Alert Level Two, public parks and playgrounds are open, though people should try to keep a 2-metre physical distance from others.

The wheelie bin and crate collection service will continue as usual, with residents needing to correctly sort their rubbish, recycling, and glass into the corresponding bins.

The Ashburton Resource Recovery Park will continue to operate through gate two to allow all visitors to register for contact tracing. The recycling yard will be open and operating as normal and the reuse shop will be open.

Rubbish and green waste will be accepted across the weighbridge, and only eftpos payments will be accepted.

The park will continue to be closed between 12:30pm and 1pm for all staff to have a lunch break.

The Methven green waste facility and the Rakaia Resource Recovery Park will be operating as normal with people required to scan/contact trace.

For more details about Council services under Alert Level Two, visit ashburtondc.govt.nz.

Further information about Alert Level Two and COVID-19 can be found at covid19.govt.nz.