NZ will move to traffic light system on December 3

Monday 22 November 4pm

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed today that the whole country will shift to the traffic light system, formally called the Covid-19 Protection Framework, at 11.59pm on Thursday, December 2.

This means from Friday, December 3, vaccine passes will be needed pretty much everywhere except supermarkets, pharmacies, all health and disability services, food banks or petrol stations. They’ll also be needed for entry to summer events and festivals.

The cabinet meeting on Monday, November 29 will determine what colour each region will enter the new system.

“Auckland will enter at Red. The settings for other regions will be based on factors like vaccination levels, but Cabinet has already confirmed that no region will start at Green while we are transitioning and managing a current outbreak,” said Ardern.

From November 25, hairdressers and barbers in Auckland will be able to operate using vaccine passes as a trial period before the traffic light system kicks in.

“Those businesses that participate in the trial must operate with vaccine passes, take bookings only, and all staff must be fully vaccinated,” Ardern said.

A verifier app will launch tomorrow for businesses to prepare for scanning vaccine passes under the new system. The government will release detailed information later this week with specific guidance for businesses.

A quick overview of the traffic light system

The traffic light system is not like the Alert Level system. The Alert Levels assumed we could eliminate Covid, and therefore they ranged from the total lockdown of Level 4 to the total freedom of Level 1.

The traffic light accepts that with Delta, we can never hope to eliminate Covid, and we just have to work out how to live with it as safely as possible.

Green:

For when there are Covid cases in the community, but transmission is limited, and hospitalisations are manageable
No regional boundaries
Face coverings will be mandatory on flights
Places or events that enforce vaccination certificates will have no limits on them

For those places that do not enforce vaccination certificates:

Places or events like hospitality, gatherings, churches, weddings, funerals, events, businesses and gyms that do not require vaccination certificates will be limited to 100 people, with 1m social distancing

Orange:

For when community transmission is increasing and putting pressure on hospitals
No regional boundaries
Face coverings will be mandatory on flights, public transport including taxis, shops and public venues
Places or events that enforce vaccination certificates will have no limits on them

For those places that do not enforce vaccination certificates:

Events, gyms and close contact businesses like hairdressers that do not enforce vaccination certificates cannot operate.
Hospitality venues that do not enforce vaccine certificates will be contactless only
Gatherings, church, weddings and funerals that do not enforce vaccine certificates will be limited to 50 people with 1m distancing

Red:

For when there is an unsustainable number of hospitalisations and our health system cannot cope
Face coverings will be mandatory on flights, public transport, in taxis, retail, public venues, and recommended whenever leaving the house.
Places and events that enforce vaccination certificates will be able to open for up to 100 people with 1m distancing

For those places that do not enforce vaccination certificates:

Events, gyms and close contact businesses like hairdressers that do not enforce vaccination certificates cannot operate.
Hospitality venues that do not enforce vaccine certificates will be contactless only
Gatherings, church, weddings and funerals that do not enforce vaccine certificates will be limited to 10 people with 1m distancing

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