Motorists warned to stay home

Auckland police are reminding drivers the country is still at alert level 4, after noticing increased levels of traffic in the region.

“Police across Auckland have noticed an increased amount of traffic on our roads today and more people out and about in the community,” authorities wrote on Facebook.

“Our communities have done an incredible job of staying in their bubbles but we must remember that we have to continue to do this while alert level 4 restrictions remain in place.”

Police warned they would remain “highly visible” this weekend and there would be “a number of checkpoints across Auckland, including rurally and in the suburbs”.

“We will not hesitate to take enforcement action through warnings or arrests if we need to.”

Police have appealed for people to remain in their bubbles.

Numerous people commented saying they have also witnessed an increase in traffic and people on the streets.

“Northwestern motorway was fullon today and some roadblocks on the main roads north would have been great,” one person said.

“The amount of people driving to Cornwall Park and parking in the side streets is ridiculous,” said another.

Google has been using its tracking of New Zealanders to generate reports on people’s movements across parts of the country.

While overall numbers are down compared to pre-lockdown times, some numbers have increased in the past week.

The latest data, from April 11, shows that, in the Auckland region, supermarket and pharmacy trips are down 31 per cent compared to baseline. However, the previous week, those same trips were down 55 per cent.

In the Bay of Plenty, the latest Google data shows a drop of 29 per cent in grocery and pharmacy trips. However, that drop was at 51 per cent the previous week.

Latest police figures show there have been 2078 breaches during lockdown and more than 200 prosecutions.