By Adam Pearse

The government has announced that 11 public health measures from the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act will be removed, but isolation periods, mask-wearing and some traveller requirements will remain.

Revoked powers include:

• Movement restrictions beyond self-isolation requirements, for example, localised or national lockdowns.

• Managed isolation and quarantine.

• Worker vaccine mandates.

• Capacity limits on gatherings.

• My Vaccine Pass.

• The requirement to display QR codes.

• Record-keeping for contact tracing.

• The New Zealand Traveller Declaration System.

• Entry restrictions at the border.

• Vaccination requirements for travellers.

• Testing for people in self-isolation or who would otherwise be required to self-isolate.

The government's epidemic notice will also be revoked, said acting covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins. These changes signal a shift from emergency arrangements to long-term management of the virus, he said.

"Now, we can manage the virus with tools such as widened availability of antivirals, without having to resort to the most restrictive measures."

The New Zealand traveller declaration for incoming travellers will no longer be needed from Thursday.

Self-isolation for cases, household contacts and close contacts will be kept in the act for current or future use, and so will mask use.

For people travelling to NZ, the government is still able to implement mandatory mask use on inbound flights, pre-departure and post-arrival testing and self-isolation or self-quarantine for people arriving from any country or just risk countries.

Travellers may also have to provide travel history and contact information to support contact tracing under the act. It also allows travellers to be prohibited from boarding a flight while covid-positive or exhibiting symptoms.

The government will need to pass new legislation if today's revoked measures are necessary in the future.

Hipkins said keeping the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act in place provided sufficient time to "consult on and design a replacement general pandemic piece of legislation" that could be used in the future.

"When covid arrived, we had limited legislative tools to respond and new ones had to be created. It is critical that a legacy of this pandemic is a fit-for-purpose piece of pandemic legislation like we have for civil defence and natural disasters," Hipkins said.

He said health advice had been followed in cabinet's agreement to keep seven-day isolation periods and mask-wearing requirements for visitors in certain healthcare settings.

"We have seen a slight uptick in cases and hospitalisations in the last couple of weeks. This was to be expected, and for now, these tools continue to prove effective in dampening the impact of the virus on the health system and in protecting the most vulnerable."

The next review of covid-19 measures will be done by the end of November.