Police are halting vehicles on motorways and roads leading to major holiday destinations as they clamp down on Kiwis contravening the COVID-19 lockdown rules over Easter.
There is "an increased police presence" in New Zealand over the long weekend, particularly in major cities and near tourist hotspots, in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 over the holiday period.
Checkpoints have been put in place at the exits and entrances to Auckland's Southern Motorway at Ellerslie on Thursday, where police are looking for signs that motorists are heading away for the long weekend.
Meanwhile in Tasman, a checkpoint on State Highway 6 south of Murchison stopped eight holiday-bound campervans and house buses from Christchurch on Thursday morning, ordering them to turn around and make the three-and-a-half-hour trip home.
Police have warned there would be further checkpoints in place in Christchurch and Auckland on Friday.
A video police released on social media on Thursday explains that while they will initially take an "educational" approach with holiday-goers, they may be fined, warned or arrested if they're found to breach the lockdown rules again.
"It's simple: travelling to and from different towns will put lives at risk, so we're asking everyone to play their part," says the video's narrator, Const Charlie Laumatia.
"Don't be an egg this Easter."
Those sentiments echo those of Police Commissioner Andrew Coster, who on Wednesday issued a plea to all Kiwis heading off on an Easter holiday to immediately change their plans and stay home.
He said there would be an increased police presence on the roads and warned that checkpoints would be in use, as they are the most effective tool to ensure people remain local and in their respective 'bubble'.
