Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Covid 19 coronavirus: New lockdown law officially bans swimming, hunting, surfing

Ben Leahy
By Ben Leahy
Reporter·NZ Herald·
4 Apr, 2020 05:55 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

There are 89 new cases of coronavirus in New Zealand, Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield says. It brings the total number of cases since the pandemic began to 1039.

There is now no doubt - fishing, swimming, surfing, hunting and tramping are banned under new lockdown laws.

Kiwis had previously been advised not to take part in these activities during the Covid-19 lockdown but the ban was made official in fresh laws released on the Government's Covid-19 website today.

People cannot leave home to hunt, tramp, swim, take part in other water-based activities, such as surfing and boating, or do anything that may put them in danger or require help from rescue services.

Police patrol Auckland's Tamaki Drive on day 10 of the lockdown. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Police patrol Auckland's Tamaki Drive on day 10 of the lockdown. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the issuing of the Health Notice was to ensure its success and help move the country out of lockdown as soon as possible.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The notice sets out:
• 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

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

• 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.

"In the first week of being at Alert Level 4 we have seen high rates of compliance," Bloomfield said.

"The best way to ensure the success of the lockdown is for everyone to play their part.

"That means staying at home, maintaining physical distancing when outdoors and washing your hands."

NeedToKnow3
NeedToKnow3
Hunters have been ordered to stay out of the bush during the lockdown. Photo / 123rf
Hunters have been ordered to stay out of the bush during the lockdown. Photo / 123rf

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster welcomed the guidance and said police's primary goal was to ensure people understood the importance of staying home.

"The vast majority of New Zealanders have a high level of awareness of what they can and can't do under the Alert Level 4 restrictions, and by and large people are doing a tremendous job," he said.

"We want people to stay safe, but if a small number of people persist in deliberately flouting the restrictions, police will have the discretion to warn or, if necessary, to arrest.

"The Health Notice makes it clear what types of outdoor exercise and recreation people shouldn't do.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Outside of that, we are asking people to stay local, apply common sense and not do anything that could risk exposure to injury or require search and rescue services. "

Coster said the public should not notice any "significant change to policing as we continue to prioritise high visibility reassurance to the community, and a continued focus on day-to-day police work".

"I have recently set a clear expectation of our staff on how we police in the current environment. We have today updated our operational guidelines to staff, to help them police with confidence and certainty," he said.

Bloomfield stressed that "no one" was immune to the virus; adding younger generations needed to realise they were at risk.

"We are seeing high rates of people aged 20-29 with the virus," he said.

"These people may not die of it, but if they are not following the rules they can pass it on to others.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"By clarifying the rules we are also reinforcing the ability of police to enforce them. No one likes a rule breaker, especially when breaking the rules puts other New Zealanders' lives at risk."

He added police now had "all the powers they need" to make sure those not following the rules were "dealt with".

"We've started well but now is not the time to be complacent."

The Game Animal Council said it had given "consistent guidance" against hunting - and many other recreational activities - during the Level 4 lockdown.

Kiws should avoid all water-based activities or risk running foul of the law. Photo / 123rf
Kiws should avoid all water-based activities or risk running foul of the law. Photo / 123rf

That guidance had now been reinforced by a Government Order. "This is enforceable," council general manager Tim Gale said.

"Under this order, the police [can]do anything reasonably necessary to enforce compliance, including using the power of arrest."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said most hunters were doing their bit to fight Covid-19 and had complied with the guidance not to hunt, despite it being "frustrating to stay at home during the roar".

"For those people selfishly flouting the rules, this should be a wake-up call. It is time to do the right thing and stay at home," Gale said.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Man admits having $20k of stolen goods in mysterious arson case

04 Jul 06:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Man admits having $20k of stolen goods in mysterious arson case

Man admits having $20k of stolen goods in mysterious arson case

04 Jul 06:00 PM

William Tidd tried to sell the stolen items hours after the incident.

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM
Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

'Social dysfunction at its worst': Two people sentenced over Rotorua teen prostitution ring

'Social dysfunction at its worst': Two people sentenced over Rotorua teen prostitution ring

04 Jul 01:08 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP