It's official - New Zealand is in alert level 1.
The move was made at midnight, ending nearly three months of domestic restrictions.
For the most part, it means a return to normality - but for many businesses it will still be a tough road back. While domestic restrictions have been lifted, tight border measures remain in place meaning international tourism remains effectively non-existent.
The Alcohol Beverages Council warns the sector is still facing significant challenges. Executive director Bridget MacDonald says some consumers remain anxious about socialising.
"Alert level 1 looks like business as usual on paper. So we can say goodbye to social distancing and the capacity limits - but the reality for the hospitality industry is quite different," she told Newshub.
"It's because there are still some quite significant financial and social challenges in our environment.
"Like all businesses, the industry is quite reliant on its customers and we know they too are facing challenges in this environment. We're quite aware that there's some consumer anxiety around socialising and that might remain for some time."
It could take up to five years for the hospitality industry to recover, MacDonald said.
There is also a long road to recovery for tourism - with predictions it will be between three and five years before the global market returns to pre-COVID levels, according to Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Chris Roberts.
"It's moving back to like the usual for New Zealanders except for the closed border and there are parts of our economy that are still affected by having that border closed," he said.
"We understand why the border has to have restrictions but for most tourism businesses, the fact that the border is closed means they can't access many of their customers.
"Domestic tourism is a big help but until we are able to have the borders open in a safe manner, for many tourism businesses it's going to be a struggle."
Roberts said tourism operators and staff will need ongoing and well-targeted support while the border remains closed, adding everything changed in such a short space of time.
The live entertainment industry, meanwhile, will also look a bit different while the borders are closed.
But Live Nation Australasia co-head of promotions Mark Kneebone told Newshub he's optimistic despite international acts bringing in the majority of ticket sales.
"New Zealand artists can sell just as well as internationals but there's just not as many options," he said.
"[Monday's] announcement gives us enough runway to keep going so we're really happy.
"Once we can figure out a viable 14-day or hopefully shorter quarantine system, then I think that we're going to see international acts trying to get into the country from the end of the year - it's just trying to figure out how to make that happen."
Kneebone said it's already received a large number of enquiries about international acts potentially coming to New Zealand.
The move to alert level 1 was announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday after it was revealed there were no active cases of COVID-19 left in the country.
GeoHealth Laboratory's Malcolm Campbell said Kiwis should be giving themselves a pat on the back, with everyone's efforts during the lockdown period paying off.
But he's warning people still need to be cautious, saying there's still a chance of infection.
Ardern said on Monday when announcing the move to alert level 1, that New Zealand "will almost certainly see cases here again".
"The world will remain in the grip of a global pandemic for some time to come and we will see cases here again, which we must remain prepared for," she told reporters, adding the move to alert level 1 was something Kiwis could be proud of.
