All of Aotearoa is now at RED from 11.59pm 23 January, in order to slow down and manage the spread of Omicron in the community. Red is not lockdown. At Red, businesses stay open and you can do most of the things that you normally do – if you are vaccinated. There are no regional boundaries at Red, and you can shop normally as all supermarkets and retail remain open.
Moving to Red and what that means for you and your whānau:
• Whānau should stay calm and go about life as normally as possible. For vaccinated people, life at Red means doing most of what you would normally do while following familiar tikanga hauora like wearing a face covering and keeping physical distance from others.
• At Red, people now must wear a mask at food and drink business, close-proximity businesses, and events and gatherings, except when eating and drinking. You are encouraged to wear a mask whenever they leave the house and keep physical distance between yourself and people outside of your household wherever they can.
• Hospitality businesses can open but are capped at 100 people indoors and customers must be seated and separated.
• Events and gatherings for vaccinated people are reduced to 100. If people at an event are not vaccinated, that reduces further to 25.
• In retail and public places like libraries and museums there will be limits on those in a space based on the ability to maintain physical distancing.
• Businesses and workplaces remain open but where a workplace deems it appropriate, they may choose to have employees work from home.
• As always, anyone with symptoms should isolate immediately and call Healthline (0800 358 5453) or your doctor. If you test positive, you will need to isolate for 14 days and your close contacts will need to isolate for at least 10 days. Help and support, including financial support, will be available for you while you are isolating.
Please remind your friends and whānau to get information on COVID-19 and the vaccine from our trusted sources:
– The Ministry of Health website
– Unite Against COVID channels
– Karawhiua channels
– Te Puni Kōkiri ‘COVID-19 Information for Māori’ portal
For guidance on protecting yourself and your whānau from COVID-19 misinformation and scams, please visit the Unite Against COVID website.
