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COVID-19 Management & Refund Policies 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to collate information regarding how Kiwiburn will act to mitigate and manage COVID at the 2024 event.

Overview

The end of 2023 has seen Covid hospitalisations creeping back up towards levels seen at the start of the year and Te Whatua Ora caution that summer gatherings could further increase infections and put vulnerable populations at risk.

There are a number of public health precautions that can reduce spread, including vaccination, early detection of cases and isolation, wearing a mask, hand washing and sanitising, encouraging outdoor gatherings and physical distancing.

This document outlines Kiwiburn’s policies and procedures to prevent the spread of the virus, both pre-event (during the build) and during the event.

Assumptions

New Zealand’s COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic light system) has ended, with most COVID-19 regulations and guidelines removed on 13th September 2022. Improved personal and environmental hygiene and isolation are the main tools to manage the spread of the virus. Isolating for 5 days is recommended for everyone who tests positive.

This document assumes that this will be the government’s response during the event. Kiwiburn is obligated and will follow any and all required government health advice and regulations that will mitigate and ultimately eradicate any spread/transmission of the virus.

Relevant guidance:

COVID-19 information has shifted to a new home – the Te Whatu Ora Health Information and Services website: Te Whatu Ora Covid 19

Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs)

Free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests (RATs) will remain available to collect from participating pharmacies and RAT collection sites until 29 February 2024.

RATs collection site before arriving on site. The closest are MidCentral COVID-19 Community Testing Centre and RATs Collection Sites:

  • Fielding Health Care. 7 Duke Street, Fielding. Phone: 06 323 9696
  • Unichem Terrace End Pharmacy. 325 Broadway Avenue Palmerston North. Phone 06 358 1485
  • He Puna Hauora. Unit 5. 160 Grey Street Palmerston North
  • Te Whatu Ora. 38 Seddon Street, Raetihi
  • Taihape Pharmacy. 85 Hautapu Street Taihape. Phone 06 388 0000
  • Te Whatu Ora. 71 High Street, Bulls

Before the event

There are a number of people on site pre-event ensuring the infrastructure is built. Although numbers are much smaller than during the event, there is a risk that COVID-19 could spread. This would impact the number of volunteers available to help with the build and the chance that attendees are exposed to the virus when they arrive.

Volunteers are encouraged to test before the event. Volunteers should bring RATs and masks with them to the build in case symptoms develop while on site. RATs will be available at Site Office and at Medics.

Volunteers that test positive must inform Medics. If there are no Medics on site then notify the Site Management or Event Delivery Team (at the Site Office) with as much effort as possible to minimise physical contact.

During the event – attendees

1. Testing before arrival

Attendees are encouraged to test before arriving at the gate. Attendees that contract COVID-19 before arriving at the event can on-sell their tickets or return them to the STEP queue (before Sunday January 21st 2024). If there are issues with tickets being resold or returned to STEP this will be reviewed by the Event Delivery Team on a case-by-case basis.

2. Self-monitoring during event

Attendees and Theme Camps are expected to be radically self-reliant with their approach to planning around Covid-19. Testing before the event, bringing RATs and face masks and having a travel plan for leaving the site and isolating if you test positive is encouraged. Attendees should take into account that they may be travelling in shared transport and compensate for how this can affect their travel plans if they or someone else in their shared transport tests positive.

Attendees will be required to wear a mask at the Medics facilities if they are presenting with COVID symptoms or needing a COVID-19 test.

When to test:

Attendees should take a Rapid Antigen Test if displaying symptoms or are a close contact of someone who has tested positive. We expect the community to be self-reliant in identifying symptoms that would require testing. These include but are not limited to:

  • a new or worsening cough
    sneezing and runny nose
  • a fever
  • temporary loss of smell or altered sense of taste
  • sore throat
  • shortness of breath
  • fatigue/feeling of tiredness

During the event – volunteers

Volunteers should not show up to shifts if they feel unwell. They should notify the Site Office (while masked) or have a friend do it for them.

Volunteers may want to wear a mask during their shift, especially if they are working closely with a large number of people (e.g., Gate crew). 

Every team is expected to have a plan for identifying close contacts for anyone that tests positive. Team leads should be proactive with encouraging testing and communicating any positive results with both their teams and to the Event Delivery Team. 

COVID-19 Refund Policy for Kiwiburn 2024

This policy sets out the amount of refund that the Organiser (Kiwiburn Incorporated Society) of the Event (Kiwiburn 2024) will make to the registered Ticket Purchaser of an Event Ticket.

  • Should the entire Event be cancelled purely as a result of Covid restrictions or their impact on the Event at any time up to the opening of the Gate on Wednesday 24 January 2024, the Organiser will offer a pro-rata refund based on expenditure up to the time of any cancellation. In total, $215 of the $230 face value of the ticket is the maximum refundable amount; A non-refundable amount of $15 goes towards the annual subscription fee to the Kiwiburn Society which also covers basic year-round expenses and allows Kiwiburn to continue to function as an entity (even without an event). Any ticketing agency fees or charges associated with the original Ticket purchase are non-refundable.
  • As with previous Kiwiburn’s, every effort will be made to delay outgoings as much as possible to manage impact on potential refunds due in the event of a cancellation.
  • Ticket Purchasers who do not wish to receive any refund and instead generously wish to gift the ticket price in full to Kiwiburn will be given that option.
  • Ticket Purchasers who generously wish to donate a proportion of their ticket will have the opportunity to do so by accepting any refund and then being able to gift a sum of money through a separate donations app.
  • If cancellation occurs, Kiwiburn will be open and transparent regarding costs incurred up to and as a result of the cancellation and these will be published to the Community.
  • All refunds will be processed by our Ticketing Agent – Quicket – and can only be made to the credit card account used for the Ticket purchase i.e. the person (Ticket Purchaser) whose credit card details were used to pay for a Ticket regardless of whose Burner Profile the Ticket is currently registered to as the Ticket Holder. Note the Ticket Purchaser may not be the same as the person named as being the Ticket Holder e.g. if the purchase price of the Ticket was paid to Quicket/Kiwiburn using the credit card details of someone other than the person named as being the Ticket Holder. See COVID-19 FAQs for further information on registered Ticket Purchaser versus Ticket Holder as well as the Refund process in general.
  • The timing of when refunds will be made is dependent upon when the decision to cancel is made. The goal would be to refund within 4-6 weeks of the cancellation but the exact method of processing refunds – and the associated time required to process such refunds – will not be known until the cancellation occurs – our goal will be to minimise the administrative process and thereby shorten the time to make the refunds.
  • Note – once the Gates open the Event has commenced and Kiwiburn’s pre-existing and all encompassing NO REFUND policy will apply – see Point 3 under “Tickets and Refunds” section of the “Terms and Conditions of Ticket Purchase and Entry” which can be found here. Similarly if the Event is cancelled for any reason other than Covid related issues then the same standard pre-existing NO REFUND policy will also apply.

 

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