The entire country remains at Red.
On April 4, the Government will decide whether all or parts of the country can move to Orange.
From 11:59pm, Friday 25 March, a new traffic light system will be introduced:
At RED, face mask requirements remain the same for indoor venues but are no longer required outdoors.
Indoor capacity limits where vaccine passes are used increase up to 200 (or less based on 1m distancing) – and with no limit outdoors.
There will no longer be capacity limits outdoors for public facilities, retail and tertiary.
Where My Vaccine Pass is not required, limits remain the same as previously – but only until 4 April, at which point capacity limits will become the same for everyone (no limits outdoors, and up to 200 indoors).
The next review of the traffic light settings – what colour each of the areas of New Zealand sits in – will happen on 4 April.
The Government New Zealand is not yet over the peak of cases nationwide, and there is a continued need to limit the number of people who can come together to minimise spread, particularly indoors where the risk of transmission is highest.
The updated Red setting is “significantly less restrictive” however, allowing large outdoor events to go ahead and easing capacity limits indoors, in addition to the removal of MVP requirements.
The next review of traffic light settings will be on 4 April.
The Government won’t go “green” until after winter.
The Government said people should not expect this to happen before the end of winter.
“We know that there will be further outbreaks of Omicron and with our borders open, we are likely to see an increase in seasonal flu and other viruses that we have not experienced so severely for the last two years.”
How are the face masks requirements changing?
Under the changes to the COVID-19 Protection Framework, wearing of face masks will no longer be required at any outdoor settings during the Red and Orange settings but they will be required at indoor locations like restaurants, shops and other premises. Face masks will continue to be required by workers at indoor events, hospitality venues and gatherings during Red and this requirement has been extended to include Orange.
Vaccine mandate changes
On 4 April, vaccine mandates will be removed for all sectors except health and disability workers (which includes aged care workers), prison staff, and border workers. All businesses, however, will retain the ability to voluntarily introduce workforce vaccination requirements following their own health and safety risk assessments.
Vaccine mandates remain for certain workforces because health and care workers and prison staff come into contact with a lot of people who are at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19, and for border workers because they are the first people that would likely be exposed to any new variant of concern that emerges internationally.
Now that Omicron is circulating widely in the community, the relative risk to children of contracting COVID-19 at school (compared to other locations) or from school workers (compared to the community) has reduced compared to when the vaccine mandate was originally introduced. Children are also now eligible to be vaccinated.
Many workplaces implemented vaccine requirements in sectors “where there was not a government mandate in place.” “
They can remove the policy when it is appropriate to do so for their workers and communities.”
My Vaccine Pass changes
On April 4, all My Vaccine Pass requirements will be removed. Businesses currently using My Vaccine Pass requirements can voluntarily retain them. Businesses that are currently using My Vaccine Pass will still be able to use the system if they would like to, but from 4 April it won’t be required.
Testing, Tracing, Isolation and Quarantine
At all levels of the revised Framework, the testing and isolation requirements remain as they are now. If you have symptoms or someone in your household tests positive, isolate and get tested. The isolation period for both positive cases and household contacts is still 7 days. However, there will now be no requirement on businesses to ensure customers scan or sign-in and QR codes will no longer need to be displayed.
Will people still have to undertake RATs and if so, will RATs continue to be free?
Access to RATs for the community remains the same, via testing centres/collection sites for symptomatic, and continue to be available for surveillance purposes at high risk places. They will also continue to be available in schools. RATs have also been proactively supplied to the disability sector and aged care facilities to increase ease of access. The testing strategy for the post peak period is currently under development.
A person with COVID-19 cannot return to the workplace until seven days after their symptoms started or the date they were tested, and will (generally) need to inform their employer. Businesses may not require a worker to return to work during their isolation period (7 days). Employers will need to provide sick leave in accordance with their policies, employment agreements and minimum rights, and the leave support scheme is also available to support payment of workers during this absence.
