vaccine passes from 11:59pm on 4 april. lifting the nz covid tracer app qr code scanning requirements. while the national party welcomed the elimination of the vaccine pass system, the green party described the easing of covid-19 protection policies as "premature" and claimed it would have an adverse impact on the vulnerable and immunocompromised people. april 2022 on 13 april, hipkins announced that the entire country would shift to the orange setting of the covid-19 protection framework at 11:59 pm that night. capacity limits on public gatherings were eliminated. facemasks will no longer be compulsory at schools and most gatherings, events and businesses with the exception of "close proximity" businesses. may 2022 on 3 may 2022, hipkins announced that unvaccinated visa holders, permanent residents, and australian citizens who are normally resident in new zealand would be able to travel to and from new zealand without entering managed isolation and quarantine (miq). hipkins justified the new zealand government's decision due to the lower health risks of overseas transmission and new zealand's high vaccination rate. that same day, the ministry of business, innovation and employment confirmed that the country's four remaining miq facilities in auckland and christchurch would close by august 2022 due to the low number of people using them. on 3 may, hipkins acknowledged that the government was spending nz$10 million a month paying covid-19 contact tracers despite phasing out contact tracing several months earlier. during the covid-19 pandemic, the government had contracted two telehealth companies including whakarongorau to provide contract tracing services. hipkins stated that the contact tracers were supporting people with covid-19 in the community. one contact tracer claimed that they were being paid despite doing minimal work. in response, act party leader david seymour described the government's decision to continuing funding contact tracing services as a waste of taxpayer money. on 11 may, ardern announced that the new zealand border's reopening would be moved forward by two months: 16 may: visitors from the pacific islands can apply for visitor visas 4 july: all work visas 31 july: all visitor and student visa and cruise ships on 31 july. during the 2022 new zealand budget release on 19 may, the government confirmed that it would close down the covid-19 recovery and relief fund (crrf) and allocate the remaining nz$3.2 billion to other areas. nz$1.2 billion would be retained for immediate covid-19 public health needs. in addition, the government allocated a total of nz$473 from the 2002 budget for purchasing and distributing a possible fourth dose of the covid-19 vaccine. june 2022 on 16 june, covid-19 response minister dr. ayesha verrall announced that pre-departure covid-19 test requirements for all travellers would be lifted from 20 june 2022. however, travellers would still be required to test on the first and fifth days after arriving in new zealand. on 30 june, verrall confirmed that new zealand would remain at the orange setting of the covid-19 "traffic light" system due to rising case numbers. the covid-19 surge was also complicated by the seasonal flu, which together placed a strain on the country's hospitals. july 2022 on 14 july, verrall announced that the government would provide free masks and rapid antigen test kits to anyone requesting them. in addition, the government would make it easier for higher risk patients including the elderly to access drugs including paxlovid, molnupiravir, and remdesivir. tourists are now allowed back into new zealand but only if vaccinated. august 2022 on 22 august, radio new zealand reported that cabinet papers published on 19 august had shown that the government had approved plans in july 2021 to reunite families separated by border restrictions. according to these papers, 14,000 people not covered by other border exemptions would have been eligible for the program. however, the government had later abandoned these family reunification plans. september 2022 on 8 september, the new zealand herald reported that the government would consider a proposal on 12 september to scrap the entire "traffic light system" rather than tweak its settings or move to "green." if the proposal is adopted, the "traffic light system" and other covid-19 protection orders including mask mandates could be scrapped on 14 september when the epidemic preparedness (covid-19) notice 2020, the main legal instrument under which the covid-19 orders are issued, is due to expire if cabinet decides not to renew it. on 12 september, ardern announced that the "traffic light system" would be abolished at 11:59 pm that night; eliminating most remaining covid-19 rules and restrictions: only people who test positive for covid-19 would be required to isolate for seven days. household contacts do not have to isolate unless they test positive but are encouraged to take a rapid antigen test every five days. face mask requirements will be eliminated in most public spaces and transportation except certain healthcare facilities like hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and aged care facilities. workplaces and marae are free to set mask requirements. vaccine and testing requirements for all travellers entering new zealand will end at 11:59 pm on 12 september. overseas visitors will still receive free rat tests. the government's vaccine mandate for health and disability workers will end at 11:59 pm on 26 september. some employers may require employees to be vaccinated due to health and safety legislative requirements. anti-viral medicines will be made freely available to all new zealanders aged 65 years and above who test positive for covid-19. for māori and pasifika, the minimum age requirement will be 50 years and over. october 2022 on 18 october 2022, hipkins, acting on behalf of covid-19 response minister verrall, announced that the government would scrap several of the covid-19 public health response act 2020's provisions including its powers to implement lockdowns, managed isolation and quarantine (miq), border closures, vaccine passes and mandates. the government however opted to retain the act's provisions for seven-day isolation periods, mask use and border entry requirements until parliament passed newer, general pandemic legislation. in addition, the government announced that travellers would not need to fill out the new zealand traveller declaration from 20 october. hipkins also announced that the government had revoked the epidemic notice, signalling a shift from emergency management to long-term management of covid-19. that same day, hipkins confirmed that the government had plans to hold a royal commission of inquiry into its covid-19 responses. the opposition national and act parties had previously called for royal commissions into the government's pandemic response. november 2022 on 8 november, covid-19 response minister verrall admitted that the government currently did not have plans to launch an annual covid-19 vaccine booster but was consulting with experts. december 2022 on 5 december, ardern and verrall formally announced that the government would be holding a royal commission of inquiry into its covid-19 pandemic response. the inquiry will be chaired by australian-based epidemiologist tony blakely, former national party cabinet minister hekia parata, and former treasury secretary john whitehead. the inquiry is expected to be launched on 1 february 2023 and finish in mid-2024. it will cover the overall pandemic response including the health response, border management, community care, isolation, quarantine, and the economic response including monetary policy. the inquiry will not look at decisions made by the reserve bank of new zealand's monetary policy committee as well as how government policies applied to individual cases. while epidemiologist michael baker welcomed the inquiry as a means of preparing for the next pandemic, the green and national parties regarded the inquiry's scope as too narrow and called for a separate review into its economic impact. january 2023 on 4 january, the new zealand government confirmed that it would not require travellers from china to produce a negative covid-19 test. by contrast, several countries including the united kingdom, australia and the united states have imposed covid-19 test requirements for travellers from china in response to the world health organization's concern about china's lack of information sharing around its covid-19 cases. covid-19 response minister verrall confirmed that health authorities would be conducting voluntary tests on travellers from china for information gathering purposes. april 2023 on 11 april, prime minister hipkins and health minister verrall confirmed that the government would retain the few remaining covid-19 restrictions such as the seven-day mandatory isolation period for positive cases and mask wearing requirements at hospitals for at least two months. on 27 april, the health ministry abandoned its long-awaited survey of covid-19 infections, stating that it was no longer needed since the virus was now endemic in new zealand. it concluded that the survey was unlikely to alter the public health response since the only two remaining covid-19 mandates were mask wearing at healthcare facilities and for positive cases to isolate for seven days.