Dear Members,

The committee met this afternoon to discuss the way forward following our decision to close the club for bridge sessions last Friday. The casual contact has tested negative for COVID and we will be opening again from tomorrow, Monday 1 November.

The presence of COVID in the city has led to the decision that mask-wearing during play at the club will be compulsory for the next week. We will review the situation in relation to the Christchurch cluster next Sunday and decide then whether or not to continue with this stipulation.

Bridge sessions will return to being for Christchurch Bridge Club members only, tables will be spaced further apart when conditions/numbers allow, and all staff will wear masks. Please pass this information on to bridge partners and friends if you think that they may not see this update tonight. Please also continue to be vigilant in terms of signing in, hand sanitation and hygiene in general. Our policy of not providing or serving food for tournaments precludes us from doing so for any event and we have decided not to have Xmas parties this year.

We continue to be guided by the decisions made by government. The proposed “Traffic Light System” has clarified how we should proceed to a certain extent. As any venues/businesses wishing to have more than 100 people at any given time must require proof of vaccination for entry, we will need to comply with this requirement if we wish to have a viable club. The system also requires that all staff in these establishments must also be vaccinated. November 27 has been signposted as a possible date for the availability of vaccination certificates but the use of the Traffic Light system will vary from region to region because of its dependency upon vaccination percentages. The next few months will be demanding but will hopefully provide some positive outcomes as percentages rise.

In the meantime take care everyone and we look forward to seeing you back at the club.

Marilyn Copland,

President.