Aucklanders have been given a peek at what the road back to level two looks like.
But it is a long road and the government is warning it may need to pull the handbrake on at any moment.
Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins discusses the details with Lisa Owen.
Hipkins told Checkpoint preparations have been underway for some time for the three step transition.
“If we look internationally, it's countries that have stepped down well have stepped down slowly and consistently… Those countries that have moved faster tend to have ended up cycling backwards and forwards with their restrictions so that is something that we would like to try and avoid here if we can.”
He said government is continuing to have a “zero tolerance approach towards COVID-19. But the way we approach this will be a little different.”
Hipkins, also Education Minister, did not say if vaccination for school teachers would be mandatory, but signalled tougher rules for unvaccinated teachers will be introduced.
“It may be that those who are not vaccinated need to be tested more frequently, for example, there might be requirements for unvaccinated people working in schools and working with young people who can't be vaccinated to be frequently tested.
"We'll work our way through those we will talk to the sector about the practical realities of all of those other things."
He said primary schools in particular, where children under 12 years old cannot yet receive the Covid-19 vaccination, will be among the highest concentrations of unvaccinated people in New Zealand.
"So we do need to look at how we managed to minimise the risk in those kind of environments."
