New KOWHEORI-19 changes
Ngā tikanga hou KOWHEORI-19 | New COVID-19 changes
Aotearoa moved on from the COVID-19 traffic lights on September 13, 2022. There are several changes you need to know about.
What are the main changes?
You need to stay at home for seven days if you get COVID-19.
People who live at your whare no longer have to isolate if you get COVID-19. But they should take a RAT test every day for five days from when you tested positive. If they test positive, they will have to isolate.
You don’t have to wear masks anymore, except in some health care places like the doctor, pharmacies or hospitals and aged residential care centres.
Māori and Pacific people aged 50+ can get free COVID-19 anti-viral medicine if they test positive.
Other New Zealanders aged 65+ can also get free COVID-19 antivirals, as can some people with three or more high-risk conditions.
People coming into Aotearoa from overseas don’t have to be vaccinated anymore.
All government vaccine mandates will end on 27 September 2022. But some employers might require workers to be vaccinated.
For more information, see our Covid-19 Pātai.