Please attribute to Assistant Commissioner Scott Fraser:
Police are continuing to encourage Aucklanders ahead of the weekend to stay local and adhere to the Alert Level restrictions which remain in place.
Police will continue to be out in our communities this weekend ensuring compliance with the current restrictions while Tāmaki Makaurau continues to stay at Alert Level 3 and the rest of New Zealand remains at Alert Level 2.
Our staff continue to operate 13 checkpoints across Tāmaki Makaurau and for any Aucklanders planning to leave the region for a holiday or short break over the weekend, our message is clear: expect to be turned around.
Police will continue to stop every vehicle to ensure that motorists are permitted to travel and have the appropriate documentation ready to show our staff at the checkpoints. More information about the exemptions is available on the Covid-19 website (covid19.govt.nz)
As at 4pm yesterday, 125,800 have been stopped at checkpoints across Tāmaki Makaurau. Of that number, a total of 6,174 vehicles have been turned around. This roughly equates to 1 vehicle out of every 20 being turned away.
Overall Police are very pleased with the community response, with the vast majority of people following the rules, and only a small number of people not complying.
Following yesterday’s update, there has now been a further incident where a person has been arrested and charged in relation to breaching the Level 3 restrictions, bringing the total number of people charged to 3.
In the latest incident, a man was arrested on Wednesday after he allegedly attempted to evade the checkpoint at State Highway 1 in Bombay as he tried to enter Auckland.
The man ignored the signage for all cars to use the left lane and instead, allegedly drove into the truck lane in order to bypass the checkpoint. The man was stopped by Police 500m north of the checkpoint and was arrested for breaching his bail conditions as well as breaching the regional Alert Level 3 restrictions.
He is next due to appear in the Manukau District Court on 3rd September, 2020 on a charge of Obstruct/Hinder Medical Officer of Health or Person Assisting Med Officer.
Police have seen a significant decrease in traffic volumes going through the checkpoints today, however we are appealing to people to plan their permitted travel, and be aware there may be delays during peak times.
We ask you to keep up the good work and continue to follow the rules over the weekend as we need everyone to play their part to help prevent community transmission of Covid-19.
Police will continue to be visible over the weekend carrying out reassurance patrols. We encourage anyone to stay at home as much as possible and wear face masks when out in public.
We also urge anyone feeling unwell over the weekend to stay at home and contact your GP or Healthline for further advice.
ENDS