The COVID-19 Protection Framework ended at 11.59pm on 12 September 2022.

 

The COVID-19 response will remain active and operating in the background, with fewer restrictions on individuals. This will mean that:

  • Only people who test positive for COVID-19 will be required to isolate for seven days. Household contacts are recommended to take a RAT test every day for five days. So long as they test negative, they will be able to go about daily life as normal.

 

  • All mask requirements will be removed, except for visitors in certain healthcare settings including primary care, urgent care, hospitals, aged residential care, disability-related residential care and pharmacies but not in counselling, mental health and addiction services.

 

  • Some places, such as workplaces, special events, or marae may ask people to wear a mask as a condition of entry. This will be at their discretion and no longer a Government requirement. People are encouraged to respect those who continue to keep wearing masks for the protection they offer against COVID-19.

 

  • All remaining Government vaccine mandates will end. The last workforce with a Government vaccine mandate is health and disability workers. This will end on 11:59pm, 26 September 2022. Some employers may still require workers to be vaccinated due to their responsibilities under health and safety legislation.

 

  • Vaccination and testing requirements for all travellers arriving into New Zealand will also end, including air crew, from 11:59pm, 12 September. People arriving in New Zealand from overseas will continue to receive free RATs at the airport and will be encouraged to test on day 0/1 and 5/6.

 

  

While many restrictions have been removed out in the community, we - Te Whatu Ora Whanganui - will continue with our current hospital visitor policy.

 

We still require visitors to:

 

* wear a mask

* sanitise your hands

* no food or drink to be consumed when visiting

* if you're unwell - please stay home

* ring prior to visiting a ward to ensure you can visit

 

Our rules are to ensure our staff, our patients and our visitors are protected as much as possible.

 

 

Whanganui DHB