COVID-19 Update From The New Zealand Government: New Zealand Remains At Red

The Government has received public health advice that now is not yet the time to ease the existing restrictions and drop from Red to Orange. 

Even though much of the country has likely experienced the peak of the Omicron outbreak, many regions and rural areas around New Zealand are facing an increase in case numbers. 

The traffic light settings will be reviewed again next week, on Thursday 14 April. 

As of 11.59pm, Friday 25 March, a number of restrictions have been removed from every colour setting of the COVID-19 Protection Framework. 

At Red:

• There are no limits for outdoor activities, such as gatherings and events, and food and drink businesses.
• There is a 200-person limit for indoor gatherings.
• You do not need to wear a face mask outdoors.
• Other face mask rules remain unchanged — face masks are still required in most indoor settings.
• There is no requirement to scan in or for a business to display a QR code poster or have mandatory record keeping in place.

My Vaccine Pass 

From 11:59pm on 4 April 2022, there will be no requirement to use My Vaccine Pass. My Vaccine Pass was an extremely useful tool while New Zealand was getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and during the Delta outbreak. With around 95% of the eligible population at least double dosed, My Vaccine Pass is no longer needed.

After 4 April, businesses will still be able to use the system if they want to, but from tonight it's not required.

Worker vaccine mandates

From 11:59pm on 4 April 2022, some government vaccine mandates for workers will be removed. 

Workers that will still be covered by a government vaccine mandate include: 

• health and disability workers (including aged care)
• prison staff
• border workers.

Vaccine mandates remain in place for these sectors because workers in these areas have a high level of contact with people at risk of developing serious illness from COVID-19. For border workers, there is a high risk of exposure to new variants. 

Businesses will be able to voluntarily introduce workforce vaccination requirements if appropriate to the workforce.

The importance of face masks

At both Red and Orange there will be requirements to wear a face mask. This is because next to being vaccinated and having a booster vaccination, face masks remain our best defence against COVID-19. 

International research shows that wearing them can reduce new cases of the virus by as much as 53%. 

This means by putting on a face mask you are contributing to lowering our case numbers, lowering the number of people in hospital, and lowering the number of deaths. 

Resources

Key COVID-19 information in Te Reo Māori and over 35 other languages, plus accessible formats for the disabled community, is available from the Unite Against COVID-19 website.

Information is available in NZ Sign Language, large print & audio, easy read.

Information for Pacific peoples.

Useful posters for your workplace or community.

Financial support for individuals, whānau, foreign nationals, and businesses.

Up-to-date Alert Level information.

Case information and numbers from the Ministry of Health.

Contact information

Call Healthline if you have symptoms 0800 358 5453

Need to talk? For mental health help, call or text 1737

Free helpline for businesses, offering advice and access to Government business support, HR and general business advice and access to online resources and webinars.

Call 0800 500 362 for North Island, or 0800 50 50 96 for South Island.

Report issues and people or businesses not following advice to COVID-19 Compliance Centre.

Get the latest information on our website or Facebook

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