Ski fields still open at Level 2 thanks to colour-coordinated systems and planning

August 13, 2020

NZSki CEO Paul Anderson said while they're confident in their Level 2 system, they're also relying on guests to do their part.

New Zealand's ski fields are still operating under Alert Level 2 thanks to planning and systems created the last time the country was at this level for a Covid-19 response.

NZSki CEO Paul Anderson told 1 NEWS at a busy Coronet Peak ski field in Queenstown this afternoon they had organised ways to work at Level 2 months ago. They never had a chance to implement the measures with the country moving to Level 1 before they were needed.

It has made transitioning to Level 2 this time - an operation that saw them close for just one day yesterday - a smooth process.

"We had to make sure all our staff were well-trained and we just had to do all the things we needed to do like put the signage up and prepare places, particularly food and beverage outlets, to be ready for this."

Mr Anderson told 1 NEWS the ski field is using a colour-coordinated system at Level 2 to keep track of all the people in the area.

"We've implemented a green, orange and red zone system and all our staff have access to that," he said.

"Red is where there's a limited number of people can go - we need to have them contact traced and we can only have 100 people inside.

"An orange zone is where we've got contact tracing in place and we're prepared to allow people to come within a metre of each other [such as a ski lift queue].

"The green zones is two-metre spacing - we don't actually need contact tracing but we've got it in place - and that's spaces like the ski trails."

Mr Anderson added passes have also been given to non-skiers at resorts to trace their movements as well.

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