Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has delivered a warning to Māori in relation to hongi: "Cultures that don't adapt die."
Māori will have to make cultural changes to adjust to a Covid-19 world, he said.
Many iwi stopped using hongi as a greeting in mid-March after the first cases of coronavirus in New Zealand.
Peters questioned whether hongi would ever come back.
Peters supported the 10 people limit on funerals and tangi.
