COVID-19 UPDATE: 22 February 2021

Kia ora SAE staff and students,

This afternoon, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that our recent ‘snap lockdown’ has contained the community cases of COVID-19 and as such, Auckland can move back to Alert Level 1. The transition to Alert Level 1 will take effect as of midnight tonight.

This is the news we hoped for. It means we can fully return all classes to campus. Please look out for further information within your respective Slack channels, but in general, you can plan to be back to SAE from tomorrow. Yay!

A reminder however that “Alert Level 1 is not Alert Level none”, as recently emphasized by Dr Ashley Bloomfield. We do need to maintain vigilance and care. In particular:

  • It’s critical that you do not come to campus if you are unwell. Please stay home and seek medical attention as required.

  • You must scan in daily, either through the COVID-19 app or our manual sign in sheets. The recent community cases were contained so quickly largely because of the speed in which contact tracing could occur. Let’s do our bit and ensure we ALL scan in every day.

  • Maintain good hand hygiene and cough/sneeze into your elbow.

  • Mask wearing is mandatory on public transport and encouraged on campus, particularly when in close proximity to others over a sustained period such as recording in our studios.


Our Level 1 protocols are reattached as a reminder. 


And one final reminder: We typically don’t know what is happening behind the scenes for most of our students and staff. Many of you will have loved-ones affected by COVID-19, particularly if you have family overseas. Some may have lost jobs as a result of the pandemic, others will be working in stressful situations on the front-line. So, as we come back together on campus, let’s please continue to be respectful and kind to each other. Treating each other well helps ensure SAE is a safe and enjoyable place to come to everyday, no matter what you are dealing with outside of these four walls. 


I look forward to seeing you all back on campus. 

Ngā mihi nui

Suzette

 

Dr Suzette Major

Campus Director, SAE AUCKLAND