Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins is continuing to champion masks, after some requirements were loosened.
New Zealand is now at the orange traffic light setting, which means all gathering limits have gone and customers no longer have to be separated and seated to be served at hospitality venues.
Masks are still required in retail stores and on public transport, but no longer in restaurants or schools.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Morning Report the move to not require masks in hospitality is because people can choose to be there.
"People have to go to the supermarket in order to survive. So, you're going to have elderly people, you're going to have people who are immuno-compromised, who would be very vulnerable if they got Covid-19, and so, requiring masks there helps to protect them."
Hipkins said it would be up to individual schools to decide whether masks were needed, and it could depend on a lot of factors.
He said opening the windows will ventilate rooms properly, and in winter opening them as much as a centimetre would help clean the air, although this may not be possible for all schools.
"There's going to be a limited number of cases where it's not [an option], where you've got schools that are covered in snow for example, it's not a practical option.
"So, we will make sure that they have portable air cleaners to cover those sorts of settings."
