Nineteen people have been arrested following anti-lockdown protests around the country Tuesday.
Police say two people were arrested in Northland, four arrested in Auckland, three in Waikato, six in Bay of Plenty, two people in Whanganui, one in Christchurch, and one in Taupō.
Each of the protests were held outside Government and local council buildings in a number of regions. Police say arrests were made for failing to comply with Alert Level 4 restrictions.
In Nelson, a protest took place outside the council building, but police say no arrests were made. Local police also responded to small groups of protesters outside council buildings in New Plymouth, and Manawatū.
Though small, police say the actions of those involved in the anti-lockdown protests were “disappointing”.
“While protest is a normal feature of a well-functioning democracy, police have a low tolerance for anyone who deliberately ignores the restrictions in the current situation. Today’s arrests reflect that,” a police spokesperson said.
“The alert level is in place to protect us all and we need everyone to do their part.”
Since the country's Alert Level 4 began, police say 118 people have been charged with a total of 126 offences nationwide.
Of those charges, 84 were for Failing to Comply with Order Covid-19, 28 for Failure to Comply with Direction/Prohibition/Restriction, 11 for Health Act Breaches and 3 for Assaults/Threatens/Hinders/Obstructs Enforcement Officer.
There have also been 341 formal warnings issued to 338 people - 126 for Failing to Comply with Order Covid-19, 119 for Failure to Comply with Direction/Prohibition/Restriction, 95 for Health Act Breaches and one for Assaults/Threatens/Hinders/Obstructs Enforcement Officer.
Police say they've received 13,531 online breach notifications of which 8367 were about a gathering, 3865 were about a business, and 1299 were about an individual.
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