Government defines “local areas” (April 1st post for those very gullible)

The Government announced this morning that as there was so much confusion about how far from home people could travel to exercise, it has passed an Order-in-Council to provide certainty.

The following are the maximum distances you can now travel from your home, without being deemed in breach of the Level 4 restrictions.

• In cities: 500 metres
• In towns: 750 metres
• In rural areas: 1 km

Exceptions still apply for travel to supermarkets and pharmacies.

To ensure high levels of compliance, so that COVID-19 is contained, the Government has authorised the Police to track people’s locations through their cellphones. This is already occurring in a number of other countries such as Israel.

MBIE hopes to have an alert system rolled over within 48 hours so that anyone who is further away from their home than the permitted distance receives a warning that they may be in breach of the law.