'We will move to be less restrictive' when it is 'safe for our population to do so,' Jacinda Ardern said.
Ardern said Omicron was expected to peak in mid to late March and that mandates would lift "well beyond" the outbreak's peak, once pressure on the health care system was manageable.
Vaccine passes that are in place for venues including bars and restaurants had "always been temporary" and were the "least bad option" to prevent further restrictions across the whole population, she said. "Everyone is over COVID, no one wants to live with rules and restrictions, but if we hadn't done what we did, we would have more COVID and lost people we love," Ardern said.
"We will move to be less restrictive, but not because they demand it," she said of the protesters, but "because it will be safe for our population to do so."116 people are currently in NZ hospitals with COVID-19 and 55 have died from the coronavirus since the pandemic began. 95% of people over the age of 12 have had two COVID-19 vaccine doses and 2.1 million have received boosters.
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