Essential services in Invercargill will continue to operate during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown this week, although council facilities will be closed until at least Saturday.

The Government announced on Tuesday evening that New Zealand would move to an Alert Level 4 lockdown at midnight for three days.

The latest numbers show 10 cases in the community, but all appear to be in Auckland, which will lockdown for seven days, along with Coromandel.

Invercargill City Council chief executive Clare Hadley said teams across council are working hard to ensure services can continue to support the city, while keeping council staff safe.

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"This is an unsettling time for all of us, but the community can feel assured that we have systems in place to ensure the smooth running of our city and its services through lockdown and any other alert level."

Rubbish collection will continue as normal, and the bus service is operational but limited to only essential workers getting to and from work and those who need to access essential services but don't have their own vehicles.

A small team of rangers are operating within the parks to ensure the animals are well taken care of.

"If you live close to one of our parks of course you can walk along the routes in your bubble but please remember that all playgrounds are out of bounds during Alert Level 4," she said.

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The library is closed and staff are asking people to not return their books.

All fees had been removed from items, no overdue fines will accumulate and due dates are being extended.

All Council facilities are closed, including the civic administration building, the Bluff Service Centre, Splash Palace, Bluff Pool, Civic Theatre, and He Waka Tuia.

Rates are due on the last Friday of this month, and dog registrations are also due. Both can be paid online but if there are any issues with this people can contact council customer services.

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For a comprehensive list of facilities, services and up-to-date information, people can visit the Council website at icc.govt.nz/covid

Council customer services are in place to take calls and answer questions on 03 211 1777 or freephone 0800 422 435, as well as answering questions via Facebook during business hours.

Teams are also working through plans for council and committee meetings and will update this information as soon as possible.

"Our team is well-placed to continue to look after our city and its people. We’ve done this before and we’ll do it again," she said.

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Fire and Emergency is ready to respond to emergencies during Level 4 COVID lockdown, as always.

National Commander Kerry Gregory says: "We have plans in place to ensure we can respond.

"Firefighters will follow COVID protocols when responding to any incident, wearing protective gear to keep themselves and the community safe.

"But we also ask people to help keep our firefighters safe by holding off any non-essential outdoor fires - such as burning household rubbish or garden waste. This will stop firefighters being called out and having to leave their bubbles unnecessarily."

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Gregory says even if the fire is under control, the smoke often results in 111 calls which mean firefighters need to deal with an avoidable call and risk exposure to COVID.

"Please be patient with outdoor fires for land management. Hold off applying for a permit for an outdoor fire until the lockdown is over. While we are under COVID Alert Level 4 we are unable to visit sites to review permit applications."

He says anyone who's lit a fire recently, should check and make sure that it is completely out.

"Dig down into the fire sites, rake them out and pour water on them. If strong winds are forecast, this can cause fires that appeared extinguished to rekindle and flare up again.

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"While everyone is at home, now is also the time to think about fire safety around your house. Check your smoke alarms are working and make an escape plan. You can make an escape plan at www.escapemyhouse.co.nz."

"While working from home, make sure you’re not overloading multiplugs at your work stations and keep everything one metre from the heater."

Find more fire safety info at https://fireandemergency.nz/at-home/