Rotorua's worst Covid-19 rule breakers revealed and why it can't happen again

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, new police data shows.

And in the wake of community transmission in the country, health professionals say "containment", "prevention" and following the rules were more important than ever.

Over lockdown almost 200 people were caught breaking the rules and 24 were prosecuted in the Lakes District. This information was a part of a full NZ Police data breakdown showing its response per city across the Covid-19 alert levels.

About 82 per cent of people who breached Covid-19 restrictions in Rotorua were men and the most common age range was between 30 and 40. Māori also made up the largest percentage of breaches.

In Taupō, about 69 per cent were men and the most common age range for breaches was between 20 and 30.

Now with the prospect of a second wave, Rotorua GP Cate Mills said taking the restrictions seriously was more important than ever.

She said there was still a "chance of containment" and our actions would determine whether we would find ourselves in a situation like Auckland or even Melbourne.

This was "always likely to happen" but we must take what we've learned in terms of "prevention" on this next battle, she said.

"We need to be kind and look after each other now ... let's get away from this culture of blame."

GPs were still open but people needed to call ahead before going into their local surgery, she said.

Breaching the rules was something that hit a nerve with Rotorua woman Alysha Ashby, who was forced to make a huge sacrifice over lockdown.

Rotorua's Alysha Ashby's child was born with a heart condition during lockdown. Photo / File

On April 26, in the middle of a nationwide lockdown, Ashby gave birth to Kylan Black in Auckland.

Kylan was born with a heart condition that meant open heart surgery was required eight days after he was born.

As a 20-year-old first time mother, it was a terrifying ordeal.

Ashby said it was scary going through something that big and it was hard hearing others had been flouting the rules.

"You'd think people would want to listen ... they should really have thought about how their actions could have affected others."

Ashby said she would hope if the country were to experience a second wave, they would "do the right thing".

Rotorua police had 18,386 Covid-19-related call-outs over the three alert levels last time, while Taupō had almost 17,000.

Family harm incidents and road policing jobs were what officers were called to the most in both towns.

More than 250 businesses were reported to police for breaking restriction rules in the Lakes District.

Hospitality New Zealand Bay of Plenty regional manager Alan Sciascia said businesses obeying the restriction rules was to "everybody's benefit" and "entirely appropriate".

Hospitality New Zealand Bay of Plenty regional manager Alan Sciascia. Photo / File

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 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.

Mayor Steve Chadwick said the community had a role to play in getting through this as quickly as possible with the lowest impact.

"This is an anxious time and an evolving situation but we were told to expect more community transmission, and while we certainly hoped it wouldn't happen, we know how to deal with this – we've done it before."

She said it reinforced the need to remain vigilant and practice community resilience.