Men aged between 20 and 40 were the worst culprits in breaking Covid-19 alert level 4 restrictions in the Lakes District. Photo / File
Men aged between 20 and 40 were the worst culprits in breaking Covid-19 alert level 4 restrictions in the Lakes District. Photo / File
Men aged between 20 and 40 were the worst culprits in breaking Covid-19 alert level 4 restrictions in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty, new police data shows.
And in the wake of community transmission in the country, health professionals say taking restrictions seriously was particularly important in this"initial panic phase".
In lockdown, 185 people were caught breaking the rules and 36 were prosecuted. This information was a part of a full NZ Police data breakdown showing its response per city across the last Covid-19 alert levels.
About 72 per cent of people who breached Covid-19 restrictions in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty were men and the most common age range was between 20 and 40. European people made up the largest percentage of breaches.
Now with the prospect of a second wave, Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation co-chairman Dr Luke Bradford said there was a "huge amount of uncertainty" in the community.
Covid-19 had a 1 to 2 per cent mortality rate and the individual needed to think of all those who could be badly affected at this time, he said.
"We are in the initial panic phase right now with hundreds of tests happening a day ... we will have a much better picture of what is going on in the next week or so."
Tauranga police had 23,371 Covid-19-related call-outs over the three alert levels last time. About 7400 of these were for preventative actions, while the rest were general police duties.
Family harm incidents, road policing jobs and alcohol and disorder were what officers were called to the most.
Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell said going back up alert levels would be "frightening" for the community and we needed to be "realistic" that this time would be "really hard".
"We need to face this with a level of reality... this will be more challenging than last time."
He said he had business owners and community members calling him "in tears" as the devastation and frustration about going backwards took hold.
"No one has any answers about what the future might look like."
He said it was now more important than ever to "check-in with one another" and look after each other.
The Tauranga community had been good at banding together and obeying restrictions, he said, and it would be great to repeat that.
More than 460 businesses were reported to police for breaking restriction rules in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty.
Hospitality New Zealand Bay of Plenty regional manager Alan Sciascia. Photo / File
Hospitality New Zealand Bay of Plenty regional manager Alan Sciascia said businesses obeying the restriction rules was to "everybody's benefit" and "entirely appropriate".
Many had struggled to adapt initially, but the second time round they were "picking up where they left off", he said.
There was "a lot of uncertainty" in the sector and people were finding it "very difficult" as subsidies dried up, he said.
"We are in for another hard time."
Medical officer of health for Toi Te Ora Public Health Dr Neil de Wet said alert level 2 was about "playing it safe" and being vigilant and reducing the risk was vital.
He said they had been preparing for a possible resurgence of Covid-19 and had plans in place to manage "a possible second wave".
Physical distancing, hygiene practices and keeping a record of where you go was vital, he said.
Toi Te Ora Public Health medical officer of health Neil de Wet. Photo / File
In response to questions about how police would take a hard line in alert level 2 and on people who broke restrictions, acting district commander Inspector Warwick Morehu said he hoped to see a "strong willingness" from those in the community to abide by restrictions.
He said police would have a visible presence in the community and would be taking an "education-first approach" to encourage compliance with restrictions.
Police had issued more written and verbal warnings than prosecutions over the last restriction period.
