The country moves to the 'traffic light system' on December 3, which allows hospitality to re-open in Auckland, with some restrictions.
"After months of closure, a set date for the reopening of hospitality in Auckland is welcome and long overdue" says Marisa Bidois, CEO of the Restaurant Association.
"This will allow our businesses to start their planning for the short period of time they will be able to open before Aucklanders leave the city over the Christmas break.
"However, it is difficult to fathom that this it is still eleven days away.
"There is a lot to do including implementing the process for managing vaccination passports for our industry. The entire industry, but particularly Auckland is going to need support to manage the transition and we look forward to hearing more from the Government on how it plans to do this."