Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Woman not wearing mask at supermarket may be charged

Police are asking people to stay the course at alert level 4. Photo / Jason Oxenham.

A woman who wasn't wearing a face mask and used a forged document claiming she was exempted may face charges.

Commissioner of Police Andrew Coster says the woman in her 20s was stopped at a supermarket in the Rodney district on Friday, and she may be charged under the Crimes Act and for breaching the Health Order.

"While some people have genuine reasons for not being able to wear a face covering, blatantly disregarding the requirements puts others at risk," he said.

Since alert level 4 came into place, 103 people have been charged with a total of 111 offences nationwide as of 5pm Saturday.

Of the 111 charges filed, 72 are for failing to comply with order (Covid-19), 25 are for failure to comply with direction/prohibition/restriction, 11 are for Health Act breaches, and 3 for assaults/threatens/hinders/obstructs enforcement officer.

Police have issued 1829 infringements for Covid-19 related breaches across the country since August 19, most for non-essential movement:

• Person failed to remain at current home/residence: 1679
• Person failed to wear a face covering on premises: 41
• Person failed to comply with applicable physical distancing rule: 58
• Obstruct/Hinder Medical Officer of Health or Person Assisting Med Officer/Failing to Comply with Order (Covid-19): 19
• Person failed to wear a face covering on public transport: 5
• Person in control of premises failed to close as required: 5
• Person in control of workplace failed to display QR code: 12
• Person organised a gathering in an outdoor place: 6

Police have now received a total of 11,816, 105-online breach notifications: 7233 about a gathering, 3471 were about a business, and 1112 were about a person.

In addition to the online breach notifications, a total of 7527 Covid-19 related calls were made to the 105-phone line.

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Most (5366) calls were requests for information and 2161 were to report perceived Covid-19 breaches.

Coster says police are encouraging people to stay the course while alert levels 4 restrictions remain in place.

"While the vast majority of people are doing the right thing, Police's enforcement figures show that we will move to infringements and arrest when people continue to break the rules."