The Government must give the public clear information about how a woman who travelled to Northland and subsequently tested positive for Covid was able to do so, and why it took so long to have her put into MIQ, says National’s Police spokesperson Simeon Brown.

“New Zealanders are rightly concerned about how this individual managed to allegedly obtain a travel permit illegally and then, after testing positive for Covid, go into hiding for several days.”

“There are several questions the Government must answer.

“Who was the woman travelling with? How did she obtain a travel permit? When did police know the permit was not lawful, and what action did they take to locate her at that point? Did police use information from the Gang Intelligence Centre to identify her? Are Police considering charging her for breaching any Covid orders?

“While the vast majority of New Zealanders are doing the right thing, in recent weeks we have seen gangs continue to smuggle guns, drugs, people and even KFC across the Auckland boundary – risking the spread of Covid throughout New Zealand.

“An effective law and order response is needed to ensure incidents like these are brought to an end before it is too late.

“Police want to do that job but the Government needs to be upfront about what support is being given to help them do it.”

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