Auckland and the rest of the regions currently at red (except Northland), will move to the orange traffic light level from 11:59 pm on 30 December.
Sharing the post-Cabinet announcement on Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Auckland is in a good position to move to the next traffic light. The region is expected to reach 90% fully vaccinated this week.
The rest of the regions currently at red – Taupō and Rotorua Lakes Districts, Kawerau, Whakatane, Ōpōtiki Districts, Gisborne District, Wairoa District, Rangitikei, Whanganui and Ruapehu Districts – will also move orange on 30 December.
The biggest change moving to orange is that for places using My Vaccine Pass, such as restaurants, gyms, hairdressers and events, there are no limits to the number of people that can attend.
Northland will remain at the red level until the next nationwide review of the traffic lights on 17 January. Explaining the reasoning, Ardern said while good progress has been made, the region is still 4000 shy of its 90 per cent first dose goal and that they must remain cautious.
The guidelines at red
The guidelines at orange
