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National | Covid-19 Traffic Light System

Traffic light system, vaccine passes and mandates - what you need to know

What was supposed to be announced on Monday has now finally happened, with the government setting out some changes to the traffic system and the future of QR code scanning, vaccine passes and vaccine mandates.

Changes to Traffic Light System

Originally designed for the Delta variant of Covid-19, and now with Omicron becoming the dominant variant and nearing its peak, the Traffic Light System will see a few changes, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

The following changes in the traffic light system come into effect from 11:59pm, this Friday, just in time for the weekend:

  • In the Red setting, which New Zealand is in now, the limits for outdoor activities, such as concerts, sports and festivals have been removed, and no face masks need to be worn outdoors. For indoor activities, the limit has now been increased to 200 from 100, and people must use the vaccine pass. The requirements for scanning QR codes or keeping a manual record are gone.
  • In both Orange and Green settings, nothing else changes except scanning QR codes has gone.

Regarding the QR codes, Ardern says, "As everyone now knows, we have changed our testing and isolation requirements, so the isolation period for both positive cases and household context remains at seven days. While we'll keep that under regular review, there is no plan for us to contact trace more widely, with the exception of high-risk environments like age residential care facilities, or residential facilities for our most vulnerable.

"Don't remove the [Covid Tracer app] from your phone just yet. Scanning has been a really important part of what we've achieved. So thank you, everyone, for playing your part."

As we move past the peak of Omicron, we can look toward to a more simplified traffic light system to keep us safe. 🟢 At...

Posted by Unite against COVID-19 on Tuesday, March 22, 2022

My Vaccine Pass

Passes will no longer be required from 11:59pm, April 4, but where vaccine passes are not used, the current restrictions remain.

After April 4, the new capacity limits will apply to everyone. Those businesses who wish to keep vaccine passes after April 4 may continue to do so.

"We now have 95% vaccinated plus a number more who will have built some immunity from the illness itself. We said some weeks ago that when we started to come down off the peak the reason for keeping vaccine passes changes," Ardern says.

The changes are in "for now," as Ardern says they may still be required for future variants of Covid-19.

Vaccine mandates

Some mandates will be removed for certain workforces such as education and police but will remain for health and disability sector workers, border and MIQ workers and prison staff.

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.