Both Tauranga City and Western Bay councils have moved to essential services under the level 4 lockdown.

The country went into lockdown at midnight and will stay at level 4 for three days.

Auckland and the Coromandel area will remain at level 4 lockdown for seven days.

This follows a positive Covid community case from Auckland, who visited the Coromandel in the weekend.

Read more here.

The Prime Minister is expected to address New Zealand at 1pm today with more information about the lockdown.

Meanwhile, here is what people can expect from Tauranga and Western Bay councils.

All Western Bay of Plenty District Council libraries, service centres, swimming pools and recycling centres across the District are now closed.

WBOP Council CEO John Holyoake says 'To keep our people and our staff safe, we'll be making some changes to our services and will close all non-essential Council run facilities.”

As a result, the following facilities will be closed until further notice.

· Council's head office - Barkes Corner

· The Centre – Pātuki Manawa, Katikati

· Ōmokoroa Library and Service Centre

· Te Puke Library and Service Centre

· Waihī Beach Library and Service Centre

· Dave Hume Swimming Pool, Katikati

· Community Recycling and Greenwaste Centres – Katikati, Athenree, Ōmokoroa and Te Puke

· TECT Park

Council will continue to follow Ministry of Health guidelines and other directive from central government to mitigate risks to Council services and staff from the pandemic.

Kerbside waste collection is considered an essential service and contractors will continue to collect rubbish bins as usual. For the safety of staff, no sorting can take place during this time.

As such, all glass recycling should be combined into the mixed recycling bin (yellow lid) and food waste should be added into the rubbish bin for the remainder of the week (18-20 August). A further update will be provided at the end of the week.

Pay-as-you throw tags must be used as per usual.

Any library books due to be returned during level four will be extended with no overdues or fines.

All closures will be monitored and reassessed on an ongoing basis.

John says, 'The most important thing we can do for ourselves and one another is follow Ministry of Health guidelines. We know the Western Bay community will support us in not exposing our staff to any unnecessary risks.”

For more information and updates on Council services visit: www.westernbay.govt.nz/community/covid-19

Tauranga Council is pretty much the same.

What you need to know:

Waste collection
Waste and recycling collection and disposal are an essential service so collections will continue to take place in the safest way possible. Assisted services will be suspended under Alert Level 4 and the transfer stations will be closed.

Parks and playgrounds
Some park gates will be locked, and playgrounds are also closed as COVID 19 can survive on a range of surfaces. Under Alert Level 4 you can still go for walks but avoid spaces where you cannot practice safe social distancing.

As sections of the tracks up and around Mauao are too narrow for people to safely maintain social distance, it will be closed from 7am and kaitiaki will on site to remind people not to use the tracks. McLaren falls will also be closed to the public.

Customer Service Centre
The customer service centre is closed but the call centre is available 24/7. You can reach them on (07) 577 7000. You can also do many of the things you need from us online – please visit our ‘Do it online' page at www.tauranga.govt.nz

Tauranga City Libraries
All Tauranga City Libraries are closed. If you have any library items, please hold onto them for now.

• The due date of all items currently on loan that have a status of being ‘checked out' have been extended and no overdue fines will accrue.
• All book returns slots are closed. Please hold your items until we re-open.
• Any library item requests received before Alert Level 3 will be held and will be available for pick up when we re-open.

An extensive collection of eBooks, eNewspapers, eMagazines, and other online resources is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week through the Digital Library. If you don't have a library card, you can apply for a digital-only membership and begin borrowing our eResources right away.

For up-to-date information please continue to visit the Tauranga City Libraries website or Facebook page. You can also get in touch with via email or phone us 07 577 7177

Art gallery and venues
Tauranga Art Gallery, Bay Venues Limited (BVL), BayCourt Community and Arts Centre will all be closed.

Transportation
Council will continue to deal with immediate safety issues like dangerous potholes and debris on the road. CCTV cameras will still be monitored, and streetlights will still function.

Community welfare
Emergency welfare and support services are being coordinated by Civil Defence Emergency Management, for which Council has an essential role alongside partner agencies and organisations.

For more information on Council services and disruptions caused by COVID-19 visit Tauranga.govt.nz. Also follow @taurangacitycouncil on Facebook,

Building inspections
There will be no building inspections under Alert Level 4. Inspections that were planned over the next three days will be rescheduled.

Animal Services
Animal services will continue to manage the Pound and respond to dangerous and wandering dogs.

For a full update on Council services and facilities, visit: tauranga.govt.nz
For updates on CODI-19 visit: covid19.govt.nz