Covid-19: Rush on Bay of Plenty, Coromandel supermarkets

A picture of inside the Pak n' Save supermarket at Thames earlier this afternoon, when it was three times' busier than usual. Photo / Supplied

• There is no known link between today's case and the border or an MIQ facility.
• The Prime Minister will front a press conference with Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield at 6pm. Watch live on nzherald.co.nz
• Aucklanders have reported a rush on supermarkets since the news broke at 3pm.
• Covid-19 modeller Shaun Hendy said Aucklanders "should assume we've been exposed" and wear masks immediately.
• This file will be continuously updated, please refresh for the latest news.

The threat of a Covid-19 lockdown has seen a rush on Bay of Plenty and Coromandel supermarket, with flour and toilet paper among the targets.

A positive case of Covid was identified in the Auckland community early this afternoon and is under investigation.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has since confirmed New Zealand will move into an alert level 4 lockdown from midnight. This is expected to last three days for most of the country. Auckland and Coromandal, where the infected person spent time, faced a seven-day lockdown.

Even before the lockdown was confirmed, the case prompted panic buying in supermarkets in Auckland with some seeing queues out the door.

Pak'nSave issued a statement on its Facebook page telling people there was no need to buy more than they need.

"We have plenty of food and groceries to go around."

In Rotorua, a shopper at New World described the scene as "manic".

Trolleys were filled with toilet paper and other necessities, she said.

"It was really busy in the car park. Inside it was busy but not absolutely crazy. There were lots of people going around getting heaps and heaps of toilet paper.

"One woman bellowed out 'stocking up for the lockdown'."

The shopper, who would not be named, said the aisle with the flour had most of its larger bags gone.

"People weren't pushing and showing but obviously it was very busy. There was a lot of chit-chat about it [Covid], the car park was crazy."

At Pak'N Save in central Tauranga, parking was at a premium with some shoppers parking on the grass verge across the road.

A reporter said the store was busier than usual but not manic.

An Omokoroa couple in their 50s said they had travelled to Tauranga to get their first Covid-19 vaccination jabs at 5pm, and on hearing about the possible lockdown decided to do a big shop as well.

"I think if the Covid-19 recent community case is the Delta variant then it definitely makes sense for us to go into lockdown even if it is for a few days, particularly with what is happening in Australia and in the UK," the shopper said.

Another Pak N Save shopper said she and her husband and six children were buying supplies for their two-year-old's birthday party planned for the weekend.

"I will really gutted if we do go into lockdown as we had planned a birthday trip to Auckland Zoo over the weekend."

Countdown on Cameron Rd, Tauranga was also busy.

A shopper from Omanawa said there was no panic but it was getting busy around the shelves and at the till.

However, when he bought three1kg bags of flour - part of his normal shop - another shopper "glared daggers at him" as if he was trying to hoard supplies, he said.

The shopper said his only concern about lockdown was those people "doing it tough", including people living on the streets.

"We need to be nice to each other and ensure those who most in need are not forgotten."

Another shopper at Countdown Tauranga said she was at the supermarket because she did not get the chance to do buy supplies over the weekend.

The woman said her main concern if the country went into lockdown again was her son and daughter both live in Auckland.

"My son is a builder and he and his partner have just had a new baby and they have a mortgage to pay and won't get paid if he can't work. "

A reporter in Coromandel said the Thames' Pak n' Save was three times busier than normal. People she spoke to believe it was mostly local shoppers rather than Aucklanders.

One shopper said she was used to preparing for getting stuck in flooded roads where she lived, so stocking up was a habit

The traffic on the Kopu to Hikuai road, from Coromandel's east coast to its west was experiencing much more traffic than usual, the reporter said.

Level 4 Rules
- Everyone in New Zealand is to be isolated or quarantined at their current place of residence except as permitted for essential personal movement.
- Exercise is to be done in an outdoor place that can be readily accessed from home and two-metre physical distancing must be maintained.
- Recreation and exercise does not involve swimming, water-based activities (for example, surfing or boating), hunting, tramping, or other activities of a kind that expose participants to danger or may require search and rescue services.
- A child can leave the residence of one joint care-giver to visit or stay at the residence of another joint care-giver (and visit or stay at that residence) if there is a shared bubble arrangement.
- A person can leave their residence to visit or stay at another residence (and visit or stay at that residence) under a shared bubble arrangement if:
One person lives alone in one, or both, of those residences; or
Everyone in one of those residences is a vulnerable person.
Source - Ministry of Health NZ