Police received nearly 700 reports of breaches of alert level 4 in the first 17 hours of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown and seven people have been charged. Police received 684 notifications from when online reporting of breaches began at midnight on Tuesday and 5pm on Wednesday. Of those reports, 322 were about a gathering, 320 about a business and 42 about an individual. READ MORE:* Covid-19: Top cop says lockdown restrictions will be enforced* Coronavirus: Checkpoints catch Aucklanders fleeing for Coromandel baches* Coronavirus: What happens on Wednesday after four cases of community transmissionAbout a third of the reports were from Auckland's Tāmaki Makaurau area. Of the four people arrested during protest activity in Tauranga on Wednesday, three were issued with formal warnings.

Source: Stuff August 19, 2021 02:30 UTC