Watch Live: 215 new community cases, changes to border
Major changes to the country's MIQ system have been revealed, the first of which will be implemented at the beginning of next year.
It comes as Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced 215 new Covid-19 community cases, at a press conference this afternoon.
Of the new cases, 181 are in Auckland, 18 in Waikato, three in Northland and 12 in the Bay of Plenty. Eighty-seven people are in hospital with the virus, all are in Auckland apart from two.
Hipkins said fully vaccinated New Zealanders and other eligible travellers can travel to New Zealand from Australia without staying in managed isolation or quarantine from 11.59pm January 16.
From 11.59pm on February 13, fully vaccinated New Zealanders and other eligible travellers can travel to New Zealand from all other countries.
Of the 15 deaths recorded by the Ministry of Health in the current outbreak to date, Dr Bloomfield said 10 were unvaccinated, two had one dose less than 14 days before they contracted Covid-19 and three were fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to contracting the virus.
"There is clear evidence that Covid-19 vaccination greatly reduces the likelihood people will end up in hospital or die from Covid-19."
