Auckland universities announce that in-person classes will return in May
New Zealand’s universities are reviewing their Covid-19 rules after the national government announced that it would be lifting vaccine mandates and vaccine passports for many areas.
The University of Auckland said in a statement on 26 March that as the national alert level dropped, “our intention is to move away from requiring people to be vaccinated as a condition of being able to come onto our campuses, although it is likely to remain a requirement for some university activities, particularly for staff and students working in the health sector”.
It said it expected all teaching and learning to return to in-person delivery at the beginning of May.
Auckland University of Technology has also announced a return to in-person delivery for courses that were originally in person. AUT’s vaccine pass mandate will remain in place until 4 April.
On 23 March, prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced that after 4 April, the country would be “post-peak” in the pandemic and that vaccine passes would become optional. Health, disability, aged care, corrections and border workforces will continue to have vaccine mandates. Larger numbers of people will be allowed in indoor gatherings.
Union warning
Earlier in March, the Tertiary Education Union called on institutions to ensure that all possible activities were done from home. It said there was a risk of an increased workload through dual-mode service delivery.
“Staff, in consultation with their manager, must be empowered and enabled to make decisions about whether being on campus is critical to their work, their learners and the institution,” the TEU said. On-site work should be minimised, and ventilation, rapid antigen tests and N95 or surgical masks should be available, the union said.
There must be recognition from leaders and managers that during a pandemic, some work may not be able to be carried out, it added.
On 28 March, New Zealand had just under 13,000 new cases, for a total of 113,000 active cases.