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The country will remain at the red Covid-19 traffic light setting, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.
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Ardern made the announcement at today’s post-Cabinet media briefing from about 4pm.
She said the rolling average of cases had declined 36 percent in the two weeks since the government refined the traffic light system.
There had been early data showing an uptick since mid-March in people visiting places of retail and recreation in Auckland, as well as more people returning to workplaces, she said.
While cases were dropping in Auckland, Wellington and Tairāwhiti others regions like Canterbury, Northland and Waikato were not experiencing the same drop. Hospitalisations in some DHBs were not expected to peak until mid- to late-April.
“So for now, New Zealand will remain at red,” Ardern said.
“I know there is an eagerness to move to orange, but we are still frankly amid an outbreak and there is still pressure across our hospital network.”
The country needed to help the health system recover and be ready for the expected winter surge, Ardern said, requesting that people get boosted.
“Unvacccinated and people that are not boosted make up a disproportionate number of people in our hospitals. More than 9900 people are due their booster today, please get your booster as soon as you can.”
She noted vaccine passes would no longer be required from midnight tonight, although businesses could continue using them if they wished.
The next review of the traffic light settings will be on Thursday 14 April.
The National Party wants the traffic light system scrapped completely.
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The prime minister told Morning Report vaccine mandates and the traffic light system had made a big difference but said the first Omicron peak had passed in parts of the country.
She warned it was only the first wave of Omicron and there would be more waves and new variants coming.
Ardern said precautions that were known to be effective in preventing the spread of Covid-19, such as mask use and gathering restrictions, would continue to be required, even if it was decided that parts of the country could move to the orange setting.
Source: rnz.co.nz Republished by arrangement.