The Christchurch City Council is reviewing its vaccine passport mandates.

Taupo District Council has ditched mandates for all of its offices and facilities, except for red traffic light crowd settings, while Dunedin City Council is ditching passports for children citing “changes in Government legislation.”

A Christchurch City Council spokeswoman told Chris Lynch tonight the Council is reviewing its risk assessment in light of the changing phase of the pandemic, including the risks associated with the Omicron variant.

“This will consider the efficacy of controls, the best forms of protection, and if the policy should include booster vaccinations.”

She said “we always intended to review our risk assessment, as stated in our policy.”

The spokeswoman said “at the time of completing the risk assessment, data relating to Omicron was limited.

“It identified that while reports indicated the overall risk related to Omicron is very high, the risk of severe disease with the Omicron variant was more uncertain.”

“It noted that reductions in severity need to be weighed against the fact Omicron appears to spread much faster and sheer numbers of infections could still overwhelm our health system.”

She said “it is our intention to lift restrictions as soon as practicable, but this would be based on a risk-based approach as per the above.”