Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Nearly 700 online complaints about people breaching NZ’s lockdown

August 19 2021 There are now 21 Delta Covid-19 cases in Auckland, including two in hospital.

By RNZ

There were nearly 700 online complaints about people breaching lockdown rules in the 17 hours after alert level 4 came into force.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said today he was happy with how people have been responding to level four restrictions since they came into force at midnight on Tuesday.

He said the vast majority knew the rules, and are sticking to them.

“People should know what the rules are by now, and why it is so important to follow them, particularly when it comes to unlawful gatherings and repeated breaches of restrictions.”

Of the 684 breach notifications, about a third were in Tāmaki Makaurau. Last year, the online complaints website received 4200 complaints on the first day of level 4 restrictions.

Police also issued 111 infringement notices yesterday to motorists in the Wellington area for speeding, with one caught travelling at 160km/h.

“People should be isolating at home under Covid-19 Level 4 restrictions but if you need to drive, for essential purposes, slow down and drive to the conditions,” says Inspector Wade Jennings.

“Don’t think because there are fewer vehicles on the road that you can speed.”

Meanwhile, Covid-19 has been detected in three wastewater sites in Auckland, as the number of community cases continues to rise.

The three positive wastewater tests – from Rosedale and the Western and Eastern stations – were collected on Monday. Further results for other samples taken around the Auckland region will be available today.

The Ministry of Health confirms there have now been 21 community cases this week.

Dozens of new locations of interest have been revealed today, including cinemas, a supermarket and a service station in Auckland.