Waikato district mayor pushing vaccine uptake after area put back in Level 3

A district mayor in Waikato says vaccination is the key to Kiwis getting to enjoy a regular Christmas this year and avoid an extended lockdown.

Waipā District mayor Jim Mylchreest along with approximate 56,000 residents in the area woke up to Level 3 restrictions on Friday after the Government extended their current boundaries on Thursday to try and contain the spread of Covid-19 in the Waikato.

Mylchreest told Breakfast on Friday morale had taken a hit in his community from the sudden return to Level 3.

"We're pretty disappointed, but obviously we've got to try and stop the spread of Covid first," Mylchreest said.

"It's a real challenge for the community."

With that in mind, Mylchreest said he'll be pushing his community to get vaccinated to ensure something like this doesn't happen again.

Currently, 46 per cent of Waipā have been fully vaccinated while 77 per cent have had at least one jab. However, Mylchreest said those numbers can be higher.

"It's completely in our hands now to get out and get everybody vaccinated if we want to stop that yoyoing effect," he said.

"If we want to enjoy the summer and Christmas with a limited amount of restrictions we've got to get those vaccination numbers up."

Mylchreest was reported by NZME earlier this week saying he believed the entire North Island should return to Level 3 to stop the apparent spread of the virus from out of Auckland, but he told Breakfast on Friday that was a misquote.

"I just pointed out that spreading the [Level 3 boundary] out into the Waikato would be a huge logistical problem and would impact on the whole of the North Island," he said.

"I didn't at any point suggest the whole North Island should go into lockdown."

Mylchreest said that logistical problem will now rely on people in Level 3 being honest and following the rules in the region with so many unpatrolled roads crossing over the current boundary.

"It's an area that is pretty compliant so I'm not too worried about it," he said.

"The policing has to be done by the police and the random stops, hopefully, will keep everyone honest but it's really on us to obey the rules otherwise we're going to be in this position for a long time."