COVID vaccine passes might be a thing of the past for most but some businesses have kept them to the delight of their customers.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in March vaccine passes were no longer necessary to enter close contact businesses since the vast majority of Kiwis were vaccinated. The new changes came into effect on April 4.
Most businesses have scrapped passes according to business groups Newshub has spoken to, but many are still requiring them while cases remain high, with most citing their desire to create a safe space for customers, staff, or performers.
Hashigo Zake bar in Wellington announced last week they would be keeping the vaccine passes for Monday through Wednesday, but following a positive response from customers, they have extended it to Sunday through Thursday.
"We had an uptick in trade with some of that coming from people who said that they chose to come because of the vaccine pass issue," Hashigo Zake told Newshub. "That's what encouraged us to expand it from Mon-Wed to Sun-Thurs."
The Wine Cellar in Auckland, which is a live music venue, said the decision to keep vaccine passes has been taken well by most of their regular customers.
"I think it's too soon to really say if it's affecting turnover. My feeling is that keeping mandates will encourage artists to plan ahead and book shows at the venue. This is key to recovery," Rohan Evans from The Wine Cellar told Newshub.
Hashigo Zake said it looks like the passes don't have a future after they expire next month.
"That's for various reasons, like the lack of activity renewing them, the impending arrival of tourists," Hashigo Zake said.
"We're trying to be ready for a post-pass future by having other measures and we think that those measures will actually be more meaningful.
"So this really is a stopgap while we work on other measures - hopefully, better ones - that will give customers confidence about visiting us," Hashigo Zake said.
"In our case, that's mainly ventilation, air purification and air quality monitoring."
Dunedin bar Woof! said although it was flooded with fake one-star reviews online and homophobic abuse was still rolling in after choosing to still use vaccine passes, they had their "biggest week of 2022".
"Of our 1232 groups through, we had only one person not want to show a vaccine pass, and they politely moved on," Woof! co-owner Dudley Benson tweeted.
"Cases remain high in our city, and we will continue the use of the pass this week. Our community has rallied behind us to a phenomenal level. We are so grateful."
Although vaccine passes are no longer mandatory, some workers are still covered by a vaccine mandate. This includes health and disability workers, prison staff, and border staff.
