More than 40 prosecuted for rulebreaking
AUCKLAND: More than 40 people are facing prosecution for flouting lockdown rules, as police gear up for checkpoints over Easter.
New Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said New Zealand was now at a stage where people knew the rules — but some were flouting them anyway, including surfers.
There have been 45 prosecutions of people breaching lockdown rules — up from 16 just days ago.
Another 367 people had been issued warnings, up 76 from on Tuesday.
There have been a total of 37,000 reports of breaches, Mr Coster said.
Eight police staff had been spat at, which potentially constituted a charge of infecting with disease, which under the Crimes Act carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.
Anyone who spat deliberately on others was ‘‘thoughtless’’ and ‘‘malicious’’, he said.
Mr Coster said some people might think New Zealand was doing well in its fight against Covid19, so it was all right to go out this weekend.
He said that was not the case.
Anyone planning to get away for an Easter break should ‘‘change your plans immediately’’.
Mr Coster thanked the majority of New Zealanders who were following the lockdown rules. But a minority continued to break the rules, he said.
Mr Coster said police had not issued Health Minister David Clark a warning, after he broke the lockdown rules.
People could expect to see more police out this weekend, with checkpoints across the country focusing on holiday hotspots.
Police have the power to set up road blocks and checkpoints, but in an interview earlier yesterday, Mr Coster said he would not be saying where those checkpoints would be.
He also told RNZ that police had focused on education early in the lockdown, but that focus will turn towards enforcement now that it was less of a reasonable excuse to say the lockdown rules were unclear.
Mr Coster also revealed yesterday that since April 3, there had been 1200 checks on people who had arrived in New Zealand.
He said he was confident that by the end of the week, police would be checking on everyone who had come into New Zealand under the lockdown.
The number of police staff who have Covid19 remained at two, while 639 staff were in selfisolation.
Mr Coster, a former Southern district commander, started in the commissioner’s role last week and recently shaved off his beard in solidarity, because face masks did not fit well over facial hair. — The New Zealand Herald