All of the country's main Covid-19 protections – including mask and vaccine requirements – will soon be dropped, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced.

The Covid-19 Protection Framework, or traffic light system, will end from 11.59pm tonight.

This means masks will no longer be required to be worn, aside from in healthcare and aged care facilities.

Ardern said today's announcement was a "milestone in our response".

"Finally, rather than feeling that Covid dictates what happens to us, our lives, and our futures, we take back control."

"There is no question – thousands of lives have been saved by the efforts of Kiwis.

"Be it iwi and Māori health providers, Pacifica organisations, aged care providers, businesses or the sacrifices of New Zealanders separated from loved ones, everyone played a part.

"So today, I say again to everyone, from the bottom of my heart, thank you."

Ardern said the decisions were based on health advice, with case numbers and hospitalisations the lowest they'd been since February. Vaccination levels were also high and there was increased access to anti-viral medicines, she said.

The Government would no longer require people to wear masks, however some places – including workplaces – could still request people wear masks.

They would also be encouraged in confined spaces and among vulnerable people.

Ardern said they did not want to ask more from people than what the evidence supported.

Contacts of Covid-19 cases will no longer need to isolate. Only positive individuals will still need to isolate for seven days.

All Government vaccine mandates will end on September 26, but employers can continue their own mandates.

Travellers and air crew will also no longer be required to be vaccinated before entering the country. Testing requirements for new arrivals will also now only be encouraged.

Support will continue for workers who need to take leave due to contracting Covid-19.

All New Zealanders aged 65 and over, and Māori aged 50 and over will have automatic access to Covid anti-virals if they test positive.

Household contacts of cases would need to do a daily rapid antigen test.

With high vaccination rates and a large number of people having had the virus, it was now safe to end the vaccine mandates, Ardern said.

Testing would still be available at the border and surveillance to identify new variants.

"In short, we now move on to a simple two requirements system of masks in healthcare settings and seven days isolation for positive cases only," Ardern said.

Moving to this two-step system, Ardern said mask requirements could be "dialled up" if demanded.

Ardern said isolation requirements for cases continued to protect the most vulnerable.

Ardern said she hoped it would be the first summer where the "Covid anxiety" started to heal.

She said she'd seen the mental health impacts of Covid, and while the worst of the pandemic was over, now was time to tackle what it left behind, she said.

Ardern said this decision was about giving New Zealanders back certainty that had been "taken away by Covid".

New Zealanders could now move forward with confidence the measures used would not be reintroduced, the PM said.

Ardern said looking back there were decisions made with imperfect information. But she said those decisions were always made with the best intentions.

She said there were lessons to be learned and the Government was now getting advice on what that process would look like.

'Right time' to end framework - Verrall

Covid Response Minister Ayesha Verrall said now was the "right time" to remove the Covid-19 Protection Framework based on expert advice.

To those more vulnerable, Verrall said they made these decisions because the risk now was much lower. There was also more treatments available along with free masks and testing.

Verrall said 40,000 more anti-viral medicine courses had been purchased, expected to arrived in the next few days.

"So now, anyone over the age of 65, and Māori and Pacific people over the age of 50, or anyone who meets Pharmac requirements, can access the treatment in the early stages of contracting the virus.

"This means more than double the number of New Zealanders will be able to access these medicines if they need them than previously."

Verrall said work continued on plans for how to deal with new variants.

Verrall said community surveillance would continue at low levels. Border testing would be voluntary and any positive cases detected there would be encouraged to do a PCR test as well to determine the variant.

Retail NZ welcomes return to normality

Retail NZ has welcomed today's decision by the Government to move New Zealand into a sense of normality by removing the vast majority of Covid-19 rules and to manage the pandemic through a revised approach.

"After over two years of being at the forefront of COVID-19 rules, alert level changes, low foot traffic, and nonsensical mask rules retailers across New Zealand will be pleased with today's revised approach", says Retail NZ Chief Executive Greg Harford.

"The retail sector has been calling for the revision of COVID-19 restrictions, and removal of mandatory mask requirements due to significantly low compliance from the public and high levels of instore aggression, violence and anti-social behaviour."

"The revision today largely brings New Zealand in line with most of the rest of the world. We applaud the removal of requirement for household contacts to isolate. However, we encourage the Government to review the isolation period for COVID-19 cases within the next four weeks. Other countries have a far more dynamic approach of review and continue to revise isolation periods with most between three to five days as best practice."

Greens: Decision will leave people wondering if Govt has given up

Green Party's spokesperson for Covid-19, Teanau Tuiono said strong public health measures remained essential and today's decision would leave people wondering if the Government has given up.

The near complete removal of longstanding protections would be of considerable concern for immunocompromised and disabled whānau whose wellbeing should be at the centre of the Government's response, Tuiono said.

"What is certain is that Covid and other respiratory illnesses are here to stay. We will be living with new waves of the infection for many years to come. Focus must immediately shift to slowing the spread of Covid-19 through long-term protective public health measures, alongside equal access to all future vaccines.

"The risk people face from long Covid and the potential for new, more infectious variants hasn't changed. The Government must invest now in long-term protections. This is particularly vital for ensuring that our disabled and immunocompromised whānau can continue to go about their normal lives without putting their health at greater risk."

As a minimum the Government had to be able to guarantee clean air inside buildings through air quality monitoring, strong ventilation standards, and air purification.

"The Government must also make sure there is ongoing support for Māori and Pacific communities to roll out boosters and new vaccines so everyone is protected equally."

Auckland mayor reacts to end of Covid era

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said today's announcement reflected the significant reduction in risk posed by the virus due to rapidly falling infections.

"The traffic light system has helped Kiwis to manage the risk to themselves, their families, and our communities for nearly a year.

"However, with case numbers dropping steadily and most people having a level of protection due to vaccination and often partial immunity from prior infection, the time has come for New Zealanders to make their own assessment on measures they need to take to reduce the risk of catching Covid-19.

Goff said mask mandates and other interventions had been effective in helping ensure New Zealand had among the lowest levels of hospitalisation and fatalities from Covid in the world.

"As the risk from the virus has receded, however, community protection measures can be eased, and people enabled to determine for themselves what level of protection they personally require.

"While the strongest restrictions designed to curb the impact of the pandemic were phased out some time ago, including the restrictions on entry to New Zealand, the latest move largely lifting the restrictions brings New Zealand into line with many other similar countries. It will hopefully further facilitate the movement of tourists, international students, and skilled migrants into New Zealand," Goff said.

Public holiday to mourn Queen announced

Cabinet also met today to consider a date for a memorial service and public holiday to mark Queen Elizabeth's death.

New Zealand will mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth II with a one-off public holiday on September 26.

Ardern will travel to London later this week ahead of the Queen's funeral next Monday.

The NZ Herald understands Cabinet was considering a decision to scrap the traffic light system from as soon as midnight tonight and to let one of the key Covid-19 provisions allowing the Government to make rules for Covid-19 lapse rather than renewing it.

It would mark a new stage of the Covid-19 response, which the Government has earlier said would eventually be dealt with in the same way as the flu, but with flexibility to call on stricter measures if they were justified such as because of a different variant.

There were 1149 new Covid cases reported today after numbers dipped below 1000 over the weekend.

The seven-day rolling average of cases today is 1480 while last Monday it was 1778, the Ministry of Health said in today's update.

There are 225 people in hospital with the virus, including three in intensive care. The seven-day rolling average of hospitalisations today is 241; last Monday, it was 273.

A further six Covid-related deaths have been reported, including three people aged in their 80s and three in their 90s.

Earlier today, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said Cabinet would consider the health and economic assessments in making the decision.

"Our approach has been tweaked and changed all the way through in response to things to be proportionate, and so Cabinet will look at that today and make our decision.

"We have to plan for variants into the future but we also have to acknowledge that through winter our health system came under a lot of strain but we made it through.

"But we've just to make sure that we've got a fit-for-purpose response to the place we find ourselves in now."

The Covid-19 Response laws giving the Government and director general of health special powers to make rules for the Covid-19 response all have to be renewed regularly.

The traffic light system was set up under the Epidemic Preparedness (Covid-19) Notice 2020 which has been renewed by the Prime Minister every three months since March 2020. The Notice is required to be able to make orders for the Covid-19 response.

That was last renewed in June and is due to expire on September 16 unless renewed again this week – something that is usually done a few days in advance.