The COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 will self-repeal on 26 November, marking the end to the potential use of COVID-19 specific legal tools to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 21 October, Cabinet agreed to let the time-limited Act self-repeal, allowing it effectively to expire. The Act was enacted in May 2020 and gave the then Minister of Health broad powers to make legal orders to respond to the pandemic. Orders made under the Act included mask requirements, isolation requirements and border restrictions.
The last remaining orders under the Act were removed in August 2023. Since then, the Act has had no practical effect on the delivery of public health services or public health measures in New Zealand.
New Zealand has since moved from an emergency response to COVID-19 to managing the disease as part of the health system’s day-to-day work, alongside other communicable diseases, like influenza. Allowing the Act to self-repeal will not affect the health system’s day to day management of COVID-19 in the community. New Zealand also has other long-standing public health measures available to respond to communicable disease outbreaks and pandemics, including COVID-19.
While COVID-19 continues to circulate in the community, the availability of antiviral treatments and levels of hybrid immunity across the New Zealand population mean that COVID-19 case numbers and severity are highly unlikely to reach levels seen at the peak of the pandemic. The health system continues to closely monitor COVID-19 trends both in New Zealand and globally and is ready and able to respond to any emerging risks to public health.
