Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Aucklanders try forging letters, driving through paddocks to flee locked-down city

Police say a few vehicles are still being turned around at Auckland's border checkpoints. Photo / Michael Craig

Driving through paddocks, faking Covid tests and forging exemption letters - they're all strategies people have used while trying to escape Auckland in recent days.

And they've all failed, according to police.

Police said in a statement there were still "a few isolated incidents" where people tried to breach the alert level 4 boundaries.

One vehicle had been nabbed after its driver tried to evade a southern border checkpoint at Pukekawa by cutting through paddocks.

"Staff with local knowledge caught up with this vehicle further south of the checkpoint heading toward Huntly. They were turned around and issued with an infringement notice."

Another person had tried to bluff their way through the Mercer checkpoint with an exemption they had written themselves. They were warned and turned around, police said.

And one couple had given staff at Mercer a letter stating they had completed Covid tests yesterday - but staff had soon worked out the testing location was shut on the day in question. They were turned around and told to get a test at a facility that was actually open.

"Police will continue to stop and question motorists travelling through the checkpoint and enforcement action will be considered for people deliberately attempting to breach the restrictions, which are in place to help keep everyone safe and reduce any spread of Covid-19 in the community."

Auckland is in alert level 4 while the rest of New Zealand is in level 2, with people only allowed to cross the border in or out of the city under strict circumstances.

Cabinet will decide tomorrow whether the city can move to level 3, which would loosen some restrictions - but it's likely the strict borders will remain in place.

Since the start of level 4, 84 people had been charged with a total 88 Covid-related offences as of 5pm Saturday in Tāmaki Makaurau, police said.

Of those, 71 were for failing to comply with a Covid-19 order, 14 for failure to comply with a direction, prohibition or restriction, one for failing to stop and two for assaulting, threatening or hindering an enforcement officer.

Another 183 people were formally warned. A total 9,432 breach notifications had also been made to the 105 hotline.

Police said only a few vehicles were still being turned around at checkpoints.