
Visiting friends and whānau at Orange
You can visit friends and whānau at home, in aged care facilities, hospitals, healthcare facilities and prisons.

Visiting friends and whānau at home
You can visit friends and whānau at their homes, and invite them to yours, at every traffic light setting.
Examples include:
- catching up with friends and whānau at their home or your home
- parties and other gatherings at their home or your home.
Follow the advice for gatherings:
Visiting an aged care facility
You can visit friends and whānau in a rest home or aged care facility, but there may be restrictions.
Some facilities may only allow fully vaccinated people to visit. Check with the aged care facility or rest home before you visit.
You must wear a face mask when visiting.
Do not visit if you are:
- unwell or have COVID-19-like symptoms
- isolating
- waiting for a COVID-19 test result.
Guidance for aged care providers | Ministry of Health (external link)
Visiting hospital
You can visit friends and whānau in hospital or healthcare facilities.
Each facility may have their own requirements to keep workers and patients safe. Examples include limiting the number of daily visitors, or only allowing fully vaccinated people to visit. Check with the healthcare provider before you visit.
You must wear a face mask when visiting hospital and other healthcare facilities.
Do not visit if you are:
- unwell or have COVID-19-like symptoms
- isolating
- waiting for a COVID-19 test result.
Guidance for health professionals | Ministry of Health (external link)
Visiting prison
Some prisons allow face-to-face visits for private and legal visitors. Other prisons offer video calls but not in-person visits.
You do not need to be vaccinated to visit someone in prison. But you are encouraged to:
- be vaccinated and boosted
- take a rapid antigen test (RAT) and get a negative result.
Check which prisons allow visits on the Corrections website.
Prison visit updates | Corrections NZ (external link)(external link)C
Face masks
Face masks help reduce the spread of COVID-19. At Orange, you are encouraged to wear a face mask in public indoor settings wherever it is practical. You do not need to wear a face mask outdoors.
Find a full list of where you must wear a face mask:
Keep up healthy habits
Healthy habits help protect you, your whānau and others from catching or spreading COVID-19. Examples include:
- wear a face mask indoors
- stay home when sick
- open windows to let out stale air
- wash or sanitise your hands
- physically distance from people you do not know.
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