21 Mar 2022

Covid-19: Jacinda Ardern on vaccine, mask mandates

From Morning Report, 7:09 am on 21 March 2022

The Prime Minister says Covid-19 mandates and vaccine passes are no longer as necessary as they once were.

Today, Cabinet will discuss potential changes to restrictions - with announcements to come Wednesday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Morning Report the Covid-19 traffic light system will be tweaked so it is no more restrictive then it needs to be.

She says the population is highly vaccinated, and large numbers have caught the virus and recovered so mandates and passes are less crucial. 

Ardern hinted mask requirements are likely to stay while there are still large numbers of infected people in the community.