Bay of Plenty residents, hospitality businesses, sports venues and educators have welcomed the decision to lower the requirements for vaccine passes and mandates.
But representatives of the vulnerable in the community are viewing the move with caution.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday announced that the Government would no longer be requiring vaccine passes to be shown from 11.59pm on April 4, when it was projected that the country would be past its Omicron peak.
From that same date, vaccination mandates in the education sector, New Zealand Defence and police workers would no longer apply.
One Mount Maunganui student and mum, who spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times on the condition of anonymity and has not been vaccinated, said she wasn't surprised about yesterday's announcement.
"The vaccine passes have been a big one because if those requirements weren't lifted I wouldn't be able to do my papers in person next semester."
She also said vaccination passes had become a "big issue" for her children, some of whom were over 12.
"One of our kids decided to get vaccinated because he was being excluded from many things," she said.
"Now they can all go to the movies with their friends."
From 11.59pm tomorrow night people will not be required to scan QR codes for contact tracing.
Hospitality gathering limits for indoor events and venues has been increased to 200 people. All outdoor gathering limits have been removed.
Mask wearing will still be required except when outdoors.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board Covid-19 incident controller Trevor Richardson said these announcements could be made because of people's tireless work and willingness to get vaccinated.
"Vaccine mandates are being removed for most sectors, but remain in place for health, disability workers and aged care workers," Richardson said.
"The wellbeing of staff and patients is our top priority, and for that reason we continue to ask visitors to follow public health guidelines."
New Zealand remains in the red setting of the Covid-19 traffic light system. The setting will next be reviewed by the Government on April 4.
Oscar and Otto co-owner Hamish Carter said the news was just what his business needed.
"It's time to move on."
Carter said not having any outdoor gathering limits would benefit Oscar and Otto's catering wing.
As for the news that vaccine passes would no longer be required from April 4, Carter said his "gut feeling" was to be open to everyone.
"We haven't lost a lot of customers," Carter said.
"But we've got relationships with past customers who were disappointed that we couldn't look after them [because of the need for vaccine passes]. It's all about looking after those relationships."
From midnight tomorrow , outdoor gathering limits will be lifted, Ardern also announced yesterday.
Baypark Speedway manager Melissa Webb said she was excited by the news that this provided certainty for the sport going forward.
She said about 40 per cent of tracks across the country were unable to open under the current restrictions and said it was not financially viable to keep going this season but "they managed to push through".
"We've struggled this season. The sport as a whole was with limited crowd numbers."
They would plan an event to one set of restrictions but would then revise as they could as these were updated, she said, but could plan for the next season with certainty.
She said they had tried various options of opening under the different settings but said visitor numbers were also impacted by people being cautious attending events.
"I think going forward, now that the gates are open it will be interesting to see how many people will come out."
Tauranga City Council Commission chair Anne Tolley said the announcement meant businesses across the city would be able to return to some form of normality and events that had previously not been able to go ahead would be able to "make a welcome return".
"While it's great to finally be in a situation where the number of people in indoor venues can increase, and where numbers attending outdoor events won't be limited, we have to remember that Covid is not beaten.
"People, therefore, need to think about their personal situations and the risks they are exposing themselves to – and if they are infected, the risks they are exposing those around them to. We need to keep taking sensible precautions and look after ourselves, our whānau, our workmates and our friends."
The council's general manager: People and Engagement, Tony Aitken said the council would review its position on vaccine pass requirements at its public facilities and would make an announcement in the coming days.
"Our goal was to have no forced job losses as a result of vaccine mandates. We were able to accommodate staff who chose not to be vaccinated to either work from home in their usual role, or temporarily perform alternative roles and tasks, therefore achieving our goal. Now that the mandates have been lifted, unvaccinated staff can return to work as normal."
Education, the police and defence forces no longer had to comply with vaccine mandates from April.
PPTA Te Wehengarua president Melanie Webber said the organisation had supported the mandates as the "best means" of keeping communities safe.
Webber said the mandates had been extremely difficult for the relatively small number of secondary teachers who chose not to be vaccinated.
"With teacher shortages continuing in secondary schools, it is likely that many of these teachers will be able to find new jobs in education now that they are able to return."
NZEI President Liam Rutherford said anxiety around removing the vaccine mandates was "inevitable".
"This needs to be acknowledged while schools and services work to ensure their health and safety processes prioritise people's wellbeing."
Other members of Tauranga's community were less optimistic.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley described the news as "surprisingly underwhelming" because distancing, seating and serving restrictions wouldn't change anything for most venues.
"Many hospitality owners have been patiently holding on to hope for this announcement," Cowley said.
"The announcement to maintain the red setting will deflate their morale even further."
Cowley said city centres across the country would still miss the office workers who were being encouraged to work from home in order to comply with restrictions.
"I genuinely thought many regions would be in orange status just before the Easter holiday to promote tourism and acknowledge that [Omicron] has spread everywhere anyway."
Tauranga Grey Power president Jennifer Custins was not totally against the mandate being relaxed as lots of people including some businesses were not even using the passes.
"I do think we cannot afford to continue to snuff out people's livelihoods," Custins said.
"But it's going to be an anxious next five to six weeks waiting to see if the number of positive cases surges again."
Age Concern Tauranga general manager Tanya Smith said she had been self-isolating for the past 10 days due to testing positive for Covid.
"It's very important that we all remember that while the Covid-19 rules are being relaxed, our individual personal responsibilities have increased."
READ MORE:
• Live: Jacinda Ardern reveals vaccine, mandate decisions
• Has Bay of Plenty DHB region reached its Omicron peak?
• Oxygen and antivirals: How doctors are fighting Omicron
Cancer Society of New Zealand co-medical director and oncologist Kate Gregory said her immune-compromised patients felt more vulnerable to the virus.
"The current requirement for people to show vaccine passes gives immune-compromised people a level of reassurance."
Gregory was concerned that people with these conditions could start to socially isolate themselves out of fear.
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