Welcome relief from the funeral sector as attendance at funerals and tangihanga is lifted to 50.

The Government has relaxed rules after initially capping them at 10.  From tomorrow, funeral directors can submit a form to register for an exemption to allow groups of up to 50 people.

Health Minister David Clark says the Ministry of Health needs to be satisfied a range of public health measures can be consistently met.

"Such as physical distancing, hand hygiene, and having no food or drink congregations of those 50 people afterwards." 

Funeral Directors Association president Gary Taylor told Heather du Plessis-Allan 50 is a big step up and will go a long way in allowing meaningful gatherings to happen.

"We can only hope this is the first stage and we see more relaxation as we go on."

Clark says they had to balance what people were calling for against examples of outbreaks in other countries.

"People have been infected at funerals and some of the tragic clusters overseas where they have been people who died as a consequence of attending a funeral, and we really did not want that to happen in New Zealand."

• Govt backs down on funeral rules - up to 50 people allowed