Ahead of New Zealand splitting into separate alert levels Tuesday night, police are about to set up border checkpoints to mitigate travellers heading in or out of Auckland.
In a statement, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said borders will be in place by 11pm ahead of the 11.59pm change in alert levels.
The rest of the country except for Auckland and Northland will move down to Alert Level 3 which means border checks will be triggered.
Police will set up southern checkpoints in the following locations:
1. SH1/Mercer off ramp – southbound traffic
2. SH1/Oram Rd – northbound traffic
3. Mangatawhiri Rd/SH2
4. East Coast Rd – Waharau Regional Park
5. SH22/Pukekawa-Churchill Rd and Logan Rd
"Like last time, at the request of the community, Port Waikato has been included in the Auckland border to ensure those residents are not cut off from essential services close to their homes," Coster said.
"Given the complex nature of closing down a State Highway, police planning for managing travel through an Alert Level boundary has been under way for some time."
The checkpoints on the outskirts of Auckland will be stopping vehicles and questioning drivers, ensuring there is no non-essential movement through the region.
"We do not have our northern boundary checkpoints set up at this time while Northland remains part of Alert Level 4," Coster said.
However, Northland continues to operate three checkpoints at the southern entry into the region at the following locations:
• SH1 intersection with SH12
• Mountain Road, Kaiwaka
• Cove Road, by Bream Tail Road
"Anyone attempting to travel across the regional boundaries separating Alert Level 4 and Alert Level 3 areas, should expect to be stopped and asked for proof of essential travel."
Exemptions in place for business travel
On August 29, MBIE opened registrations for businesses with workers needing to cross the alert level boundary if they meet the criteria for permitted travel.
A worker may only cross the alert level boundary if that travel is legally permitted for that alert level shift, or if they have a current travel exemption granted by the Director-General of Health.
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