Police are reminding workers travelling through the Auckland border checkpoints that they will soon be required to produce evidence of a COVID-19 test in the past seven days.
From 11.59pm on Thursday 16 September (today), permitted workers who are crossing the Alert Level boundary in or out of Auckland must carry evidence that they have had a COVID-19 test, or a medical certificate verifying they do not have COVID-19 symptoms and for some reason are unable to have a COVID-19 test.
Permitted workers must also continue to carry evidence for their reason for crossing the Alert level boundary, and photo identification.
“All permitted workers planning to travel through any of our Tāmaki Makaurau checkpoints should expect to be stopped by Police and asked to provide evidence of having had a COVID-19 test in the past seven days. If they fail to produce this, they will be turned around,” says Superintendent Shanan Gray, Tāmaki Makaurau Deployment Manager.
Evidence of the test can include a text message, which will be automatically generated when the test is taken, or paper confirmation issued by the testing centres.
If the worker has had a medical examination instead of a test, they must have an electronic or paper copy of that medical certificate to show Police at the checkpoint.
Drivers of freight vehicles will also be checked at random and asked to provide evidence of having had a COVID-19 test in the past seven days.
Police are aware of the vital role our trucking industry plays in keeping New Zealand freight moving, however it’s important that all drivers travelling through our checkpoints are complying with the regulations in place.
“Any truck drivers stopped and questioned by Police who do not have the appropriate proof of permitted travel and evidence of a COVID-19 test within the last week, will be turned around.”
Police have put processes in place, including adjustments to our freight lanes, to ensure the compliance checks at the checkpoints run efficiently with as little disruption to travel flow as possible.
“Overall compliance has been fantastic at the checkpoints with less than one percent of drivers being turned away for not travelling for permitted reasons or not carrying the relevant supporting documents.
“We urge motorists travelling through these checkpoints to be prepared with all the necessary evidence required to ensure the checkpoints continue to run smoothly. We thank everyone for their cooperation and patience as we all work together to help prevent the spread of COVID-19,” says Superintendent Gray.
Further information can be found here: https://covid19.govt.nz/travel/permitted-travel-at-different-alert-levels/business-travel-across-an-alert-level-boundary/
ENDS
Nick Baker/NZ Police