New Zealand will maintain requirements to reduce contagion of Covid-19 until the case rate stabilizes at a new, low level, and only then consider removing some of them.

That is a wise approach. Furthermore, it would be wise to terminate measures one by one, and see what effect each one has on the rate of infections before going on to the next one.

It is a mistake to decide by counting deaths. Some percentage of the people who survive the initial infection will develop permanent disabilities. With Omicron, it may still be too early to get such data, since large numbers of people didn't catch Omicron until around 3 months ago.

It is important to remember also that a substantial fraction of people would probably die if they ever catch Covid-19, despite being vacciated, because they are immunocompromised or have other medical problems. To eliminate mask and vaccination requirements for everyone else would force theat fraction into permanent isolation, along with any family members who join them in isolation.