Covid 19 coronavirus: Group arrested in Tauranga following lockdown protest

Four people have been arrested while protesting the Covid-19 lockdown in Tauranga as several events are held across New Zealand.

A police spokeswoman said of the four people arrested, three were issued with formal warnings.

A 56-year-old woman is due to appear in the Tauranga District Court on August 23 facing one charge under the Health Act 1956.

The actions of the anti-lockdown activists and Covid-19 deniers has been lambasted by the nation's top cop, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.

Protests were held in Tauranga, Nelson and Auckland — where controversial musician and politician Billy Te Kahika was arrested while leading the gathering.

Police would not hesitate to arrest protesters who refused to disperse at future events, Coster said.

"They can expect enforcement action," he said. "We will deal with them."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was disappointed some people had chosen to put not only their own lives but others at risk.

Takitimu Drive in Tauranga on the first morning of lockdown. Photo / George Novak

New Zealand moved into a snap lockdown at 11.59pm on Tuesday after it was discovered a 58-year-old man from Devonport tested positive for Covid-19.

The man has the Delta variant of the virus, which is known to be more severe and spreads more easily than the original form of Covid-19.

The Tauranga protest took place outside the city's central police station.

"Police made a number of attempts to engage with around 20 people gathered outside the station, however, four were taken into custody when they repeatedly refused to comply with Alert Level 4 restrictions," Coster said.

Outdoors Party co-leader Sue Grey, who is based in Nelson, said a party board member had been arrested outside the Tauranga Central Police Station this morning when protesting.

"She was arrested at around 10am this morning for allegedly breaching one of these new orders that the government passed at midnight," she said.

She understood a group of people gathered outside the station to protest the impact on their freedom under the Bill of Rights Act.

"A large number of police came out and I believe arrested four people including a couple of elderly woman. They have taken a really hard line in Tauranga."

She said the Outdoors Party did not organise the protest in Tauranga but supported the arrested board member.

Earlier today the party's social media posted an invitation to the "Tauranga lockdown protest action".

As of 1pm on Wednesday, there were seven cases in the community and health officials were expecting up to 120 cases of the Delta strain.

Genome sequencing confirmed the outbreak came from New South Wales, Australia. State health officials said there were 633 new local cases today.

There are more than 20 locations of interest in relation to the Covid-19 outbreak in New Zealand.