We’ve turned the page on COVID

COVID-19 has impacted everyone in Aotearoa. We’ve all made sacrifices to get where we are today. But thanks to our hard mahi, we can now safely retire the COVID Protection Framework (traffic lights).

Haere tonu We’re moving forwards

With cases low, access to anti-viral medicines and most of our population vaccinated, it is now safe to retire the traffic light system.

Protecting lives and livelihoods remains the goal of our COVID response. We can now do that and provide greater certainty for people, their whānau, and businesses at the same time.

Some things stay the same

We still need to do our part to protect our health system and slow the spread of COVID.

We’re required to keep doing two familiar things:

Wear a mask when visiting health, disability and aged care facilities.

Everyone should also:

1. Stay up to date with their vaccinations.

2. Seek treatment if you or your whānau are unwell. 3. Wear a mask when visiting people who are at high-risk

of getting seriously ill from COVID.

Some places, such as workplaces, special events, or marae may ask people to wear a mask as a condition of entry.

Mental health tools are available

COVID-19 has taken a toll on everyone’s mental health. Effective mental health tools are available to help people recover from the impact of the pandemic.

Find them at Covid19.govt.nz/mentalhealth

Layers of protection still in place

There are measures still in place to keep us safe from the virus. Anti-viral medicines are available to those aged 65 and over, and Māori and Pacific Peoples aged 50 and over. This helps to protect at-risk people and communities, and help them get better, faster. There are systems in place to continue monitoring wastewater and the international COVID situation. Testing is available for international arrivals to keep track of any new variants entering the country.

This approach will keep us informed and safe, and you will be notified if there is anything to be aware of, or any action required.

New variants or case increases

If there is a dangerous new variant or pressure on the health system, some requirements may be temporarily introduced to manage the impact of the virus. These are familiar to us and will always be temporary.

Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua Taking our past learnings into the future

The past two and a half years have taught us a lot about COVID. But this virus is no longer the great unknown. We now have the tools to stay safe if we encounter any new variants in the future that put pressure on our health system.