Thank you to those who have been abiding by the level 4 restrictions and stopping the spread of COVID!

I bet you are happy to see we a heading to level 3 this week.

Please remember the virus numbers are still increasing daily up north and we need to keep up good hygiene practices and wear a mask when directed to.

At alert level 3, the risk of COVID-19 being present in the community is higher. Please remember:

• Keep track of where you have been using the Covid tracer app.
• Wear a facemask when outside your home and in places where it’s hard to keep your distance.
• Work from home if you can.
• Keep your distance when outside your home.
• Do not travel out of your local area - you may need to seek additional permission to complete out of town travel.
• Your local area means the area near your home that you regularly visit for essential services.

Although most of you are complying, we have had a few people still breaking the rules of lockdown. Some have been given formal warnings for travelling from their home address to work on their new builds and construction sites.

There were several people caught attempting to sneak home to Auckland, Christchurch and one to Milton. This is after the timeframe given by the government to return home. I’m sure there are worse places to be stuck – let’s be honest!

One incident was reported where an occupant was causing disorder at their place of residence. They were removed.

We had a vehicle collision on the Crown Range resulting in no injuries to the essential worker.

An assault was reported between two flatmates.

Another person enjoyed a few too many beers and was locked outside his residence by housemates who had had a guts full. Don’t be that one who misses the social cues from housemates. Take some time apart and go for a walk.

We attended reports of a large fire happening on Cardrona Valley Road.

We stopped people going beyond what is reasonable for physical activity. Regardless of your experience or skills, if you were to have an accident, would it necessitate a search and rescue response? One person was issued an infringement notice at Roy’s Peak for being spoken to for a second time about this.

Remember we are still policing as normal and have had a few speeders caught around town. We had another drink driver caught this week. They blew 470 and received a summons to appear in court along with a $300 infringement for breaching Covid restrictions.

Be kind and keep safe out there.