The COVID-19 Protection Framework (known colloquially as the traffic light system) was a system used by the New Zealand Government during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. The three-tier traffic light system used vaccination and community transmission rates to determine the level of restrictions needed. It came into effect at 11:59 pm on 2 December 2021, replacing the four-tier alert level system, which used lockdowns. On 12 September, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the traffic light system would be dropped at 11:59 pm that night.