Vaccine certificates will be in use this summer to enable large scale events to go ahead, Jacinda Ardern announced today.
The Prime Minister revealed details about the Covid-19 vaccination certificate on Tuesday, which is expected to come into use in November.
"We will be using them, it is one of the best ways summer plans can go ahead uninterrupted," Ardern said.
Ardern said vaccination certificates were proof of full vaccination status, showing the person posed less risk.
"These are now common overseas and they make good sense," Ardern said.
Cabinet agreed to its use in New Zealand on Monday, to make large scale events safer.
The framework was being worked on, with consultation ongoing.
It intended to be used as a tool lessen risk at large scale events.
Ardern urged people to get fully vaccinated this month.
Test results were also expected to be accessible through Covid-19 vaccination records.
Ardern said Delta "was literally bypassing vaccinated people and latching on to unvaccinated people".
"The evidence is clear, the vaccine works and is safe."
The hospitality industry was being consulted, and it would not be applied in essential health services or supermarkets.
ACT leader David Seymour said it should have been in place earlier, with the UK having once in place since May and the EU since July.
"What the Government should have done is have the NZ COVID Tracer App upgraded at the beginning of the year.
"It should have allowed for people to store their status, privately, on their device. That information they held would form a key that could be transferred to any new pass, including those overseas."
When announcing Auckland's 'roadmap' out of Level 3, Ardern said at the conclusion of the steps "we will then move to a national framework that reflects a more highly vaccinated population, allowing us the ability to deal with riskier settings such as large-scale events with the use of vaccine certificates".
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