On Monday 22^nd November 2021, the Government announced its intention to move Aotearoa New Zealand into the COVID-19 Protection Framework from Thursday 2^nd December 2021 at 11:59pm.

With this move to the framework the Mercury Bay Museum has today confirmed that it will require all trustees, staff, volunteers and visitors to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of being able to enter the museum and the museum gift shop.

“The priority for us in the museum is to protect the health and safety of our community.  It is important to us to give every member of our community the confidence that they are safe when they visit us.  Without this policy we would be unable to open in the red or orange levels, which would not be an ideal situation for our community” says museum manager Rebecca Cox.

This policy will be in effect from Friday 3^rd December 2021, when vaccination certificates become fully operational as the country moves into the “traffic light system”.  Everyone aged 12 and over will be required to provide proof of their vaccination status before they enter the museum building, and exceptions will only apply if an official medical exemption has been issued by the Ministry of Health, or if they are under 12 years old.

“This policy will provide an added layer of safety and protection for all museum visitors. It reaffirms what we consider to be the museum’s responsibility to the community we serve,” says Bernard Barber, Chair Museum Trust Board.

This decision will be reviewed regularly, considering the changing environment and management of the pandemic.

For enquiries please contact Rebecca Cox, Manager Mercury Bay Museum manager@mercurybaymuseum.co.nz or 07 8660730