Today Friday, the 12th March, the Government announced that Auckland would drop to Covid-19 Alert Level 1 from 11.59am today and join the rest of New Zealand.
We are pleased to hear that New Zealand is now in Alert Level 1 and remain confident that the country will stay in this alert level by the by the time the 2021 Rebel Sport 3X3 Basketball Secondary Schools Champs commences on Wednesday, 24th March. Basketball New Zealand and the Host Association will continue planning and proceed as scheduled.
Under Alert Level 1 there is currently no mass gathering restrictions therefore spectators are able to attend. Basketball New Zealand still maintains the view that health and safety of all participants, attendees and organisers remains paramount regardless of the alert level and all guidance and regulations issued by the Government, Ministry of Health and School Sport New Zealand will be followed.
The information below is to assist secondary schools with planning and decision making in the event that any region in New Zealand may change alert levels in the lead-up to or during the event:
- If New Zealand is in Alert Level 2 or higher the event is cancelled.
- If Auckland is in Alert Level 2 and the rest of New Zealand is in Alert Level 1 then the event in Auckland (the Nationals) is cancelled. However two modified regional tournaments for selected teams (excluding Auckland Teams) are on standby in the Waikato area; Te Awamutu to host senior/junior girls and Te Aroha to host senior/junior boys.
- If New Zealand is in Alert Level 1 the event will proceed in Auckland as scheduled.
- Should the alert level change during the event/regional tournaments, these will be immediately cancelled.
If there are any further Government announcements, BBNZ will provide an update pending the announcement through the relevant event pages, as well as @BasketballNZ social media channels and our COVID-19 updates page.
Reminder of Level 1:
Under Alert Level 1 the disease is contained in New Zealand, but COVID-19 is uncontrolled overseas and there is isolated household transmission occurring.
The main controls under Alert Level 1 are border restrictions and managed isolation or quarantine for people entering the country.
Basketball under Alert Level 1 looks like much like it did pre-COVID-19, except with border restrictions. There are no restrictions on businesses and services, no restrictions on gathering, no requirements for physical distancing, although all businesses and services must display a QR code for contact tracing purposes. It is important to remain vigilant and continue to practice good hygiene to minimise the risk of community transmission. In Alert Level 1 we should be vigilant in maintaining these good practices so that we are prepared to quickly move into higher alert levels if we need to. More here.
Further reminders:
- Ensure you are meeting the contract tracing and hygiene requirements as outlined on the Government’s COVID-19 website.
- If you have questions about sports operations at alert levels, please first refer to Sport New Zealand’s Alert guidance here.
- Further Sport NZ guidance on how to manage day to day activities and events as part of pandemic planning and operational management can be found here.
- The Government’s COVID-19 website can be found here.
- All our COVID-19 Updates are available here.
