New Zealand Operating Under Level-2

New Zealand will move from COVID-19 Alert Level 3 to Alert level 2 on Wednesday 13th May, at 11.59 am. NZ government have released guidelines for all industries to operate under level 2 COVID-19 alert. The hospitality industry is most impacted by it due to the higher risk of human-to-human transmission of coronavirus present.The full guidelines for the hospitality industry can be found at the Ministry of Health. They limit the maximum number of people in a single enclosure to 100 people, including staff. A physical distance of at least 1 metre is mandatory and general hygiene practice of regular hand washing and cleaning required.All businesses will also be required to maintain a COVID-19 guest register to enable contact tracing. The records must capture:

• Date
• Time
• Full name
• Address
• Phone
• Email address

Contact Tracing App

NZ government in the coming week will be releasing an official Contact Tracing App that businesses will be required to use. A centrally managed system significantly improves the speed, accuracy along with numerous other benefits that come with everyone being on a single database – including ensuring patron data privacy.

The centralized Contract Tracing approach is in line with international best practice, governments (UK, Italy, Russia, China, Japan, Korea) around the world launching a system for their countries.

Common Questions around Contact Tracing

Why didn’t iMonitor build our Contact tracing feature?

‍iMonitor early on decided to not make dedicated contract tracing functionality due to data privacy concerns on behalf of your customers. We communicated this aspect with the authorities and were advised in early April NZ Govt will be releasing an Official Contact Tracing App with the step down to COVID-19 Level-2 status.‍

When will New Zealand’s official contact tracing App be available?

The App is delayed and expected to release in the coming few days.

‍What can I do while waiting for the official App?

‍You can capture the required information on the official template for customers and staff. Alternatively, you can use free solutions such as tracing.co.nz.

‍How do I adhere to contact tracing requirements and be privacy-compliant?

‍The requirements of the Privacy Act must be met, and the purpose of collecting the information made clear to customers and staff.

The information is collected for use by the Ministry of Health to assist in the management of COVID-19 pandemic, contact tracing all customers visiting the business within specific time frames.

‍Can I use the information captured to promote my business to my customers?

‍The use of contact register to promote a business is not considered fair use of the information unless explicitly stated by the company at the time of collection of the secondary purpose.

If you do plan to ask their permission to promote your business, then you must:

• Express clearly the customer does not need to sign up to your marketing efforts as part of providing information for the legal requirement of Contact Tracing.
• Give a clear Opt-Out and act in good faith.

How long do I need to keep the contact tracing log?

‍Current guidelines are to store the contact tracing information for a duration of four weeks.