Mandates will be no longer required from April 4 in education, police, or Defence Force workers and those workplaces using them.
The number of people allowed to gather inside increases from 100 to 200 under the red-light setting from tomorrow .
This is the part I had my eye on. I'm getting married in January, and my partner and I have a current guest list of 125. So we were glad to see the limits lifted.
People will no longer have to use QR codes and scan in from this weekend.
This is brilliant because it was starting to feel like this was becoming a pointless exercise, given the thousands of cases every day and the drop in people doing it.
All of this should, in theory, be great news for the hospitality sector.
The streets have been empty lately, and restaurants and cafes have been screaming for patrons as well as staff. There have also been some casualties, with businesses having to shut because of the mandates.
After yesterday's announcement, Tauranga restaurant Oscar and Otto co-owner Hamish Carter said the news was just what the business needed and "it's time to move on".
In Rotorua, Eastwood Cafe general manager Natasha Hall said the scrapping of outdoor gathering limits was "fantastic" news for the company's catering arm.
But I fear there is a flip side.
Will people go out more now just because some restrictions have been lifted?
I believe people who weren't dining out before were influenced by the risk of catching Covid as opposed to the need to scan in and present vaccine passes. I am struggling to see some people changing their ways.
There were 20,087 community cases of Covid-19 and 11 Covid-related deaths reported yesterday , including one in the Bay of Plenty.
There were 1290 cases in the Bay of Plenty and 505 in the Lakes.
The lifting of many mandates must surely also raise the health risks and it seems more personal responsibility is being placed on people. What measures are they now prepared to take to stay safe?
What does this mean for people who lost their jobs when the mandates were in place? Will some get their jobs back? This will potentially put even more pressure on employers. Watch this space.
When making the announcement, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said: "This is not the end, but in some ways it is also a new beginning".
Just because restrictions are being eased, doesn't mean Covid disappears too. Covid is far from over.
It is a good idea to keep in place some of the Covid protections.
Masks will continue to be used - and so they should be. We must not tolerate selfish people wandering into shops and indoor public areas without masks - unless they have a genuine exemption.
Leaving the house with our wallets, phones and masks should be a way of life now. As should keeping a healthy distance from others and staying respectful.
These sweeping changes will again change our lives and be welcomed by many people and hopefully make a difference.
But they also raise questions and more challenges.
Only time will tell how it all plays out.
