The Government will be deciding today how regions will be entering the Covid-19 traffic light system — whether in the more restrictive Red setting or Orange.
The whole of the country will move to the system at 11.59pm Thursday, which will replace the current alert level settings.
Cabinet has already signalled Auckland would be entering the system under Red.
For the rest of New Zealand, Cabinet will be considering its vaccination rates, health system capacity, and case numbers to decide what restrictions would be put in place.
As of Monday, only Auckland DHB had surpassed a 90 per cent double-dose vaccination rate, while 13 DHBs had reached the milestone for first doses.
Vaccination rates for some groups, including younger Māori, also continue to lag behind the general population.
No region will be entering the traffic light system in Green.
Under the traffic light system, the rules will be different for people who are fully vaccinated, compared to people who have not had both their Covid-19 vaccinations.
Restrictions would be placed on businesses that are open to unvaccinated customers as it poses a higher risk in a Covid environment.
The traffic light system would rely on the use of vaccine passes to prove whether a person has gotten both Pfizer jabs.
However, the Government has not made the use of an app that verifies a pass’ legitimacy compulsory, which an expert said made the system vulnerable to fraud.
ACT leader David Seymour said clarity was needed about the traffic light settings.
“Jacinda Ardern needs to give New Zealanders good reasons why each area will move to Red, Orange and Green today – she’s already failed with Auckland," he said.
The Government's own guidelines say Red would be used to protect at-risk people and the health system from an "unsustainable number of hospitalisations".
Because of that, Seymour said it didn't make sense that Auckland would be in the level because of its high vaccination rates and the fact its hospitals were far from capacity.
"There is no clear explanation about why our most vaccinated city will face the toughest restrictions, let alone when those restrictions might be relaxed," he said.
“If the Government starts making ad hoc decisions that don’t meet the criteria, then the public will struggle to buy into the system."
But, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Breakfast on Monday morning the Government was being cautious.
Auckland's border will remain closed until December 15.
From then, Aucklanders can leave the city if they are fully vaccinated or if they provide a negative Covid test taken 72 hours prior.
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