Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Unvaccinated port staff stood down while risk assessment carried out

All unvaccinated staff at Lyttelton Port will be stood down on full pay this morning as a temporary measure.

Port staff who have been received a vaccination, are required to show their vaccination card when turning up for work.

A spokesperson for the port company said more than 95 per cent of 1A or border-facing staff are vaccinated - equating to about 300 workers. The other 5 per cent have been redeployed.

Of the other approximate 300 staff who are not required to board vessels including those working in an office, 85 per cent are vaccinated.

The port is carrying out a wider risk assessment process, which is almost finished, and the stand-down on full pay is a temporary measure while that is completed.

There are 620 workers employed across its three sites: Lyttelton Port, CityDepot and MidlandPort.

Businesses are able to undertake risk assessments to work out whether their staff need to be vaccinated.

It comes after it was revealed last month hundreds of thousands of education and health staff - including teachers, GPs, pharmacists and nurses - will need to be fully vaccinated in the coming months or face losing their jobs.

The two-dose deadline for high-risk health and disability staff is December 1 this year, and for education - including all school and ECE staff who come into contact with students - it is January 1 next year.

Secondary schools, from next year, will also be required to keep a register to show the vaccination status of students.