Every region except Northland will be moving to orange traffic light setting on December the 30th.
The government made the announcement yesterday after the final cabinet meeting of the year.
How will the traffic light system hold up over the summer as the country goes on the move for the holiday period?
Are our contact tracing and testing systems up to scratch as hundreds isolate at home?
Sir Brian Roche is the chair of the continuous review, improvement and advice group advising the Government on its pandemic response.