Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says the actions of the Destiny Church leaders in leaving Auckland on the eve of the alert level 3 lockdown were "completely irresponsible".
Earlier today it was revealed that Brian and Hannah Tamaki left Auckland on Saturday night, arriving around midnight in Rotorua, where they told a crowd gathered for the Sunday morning service they had escaped to avoid the level 3 lockdown.
It comes as concern mounts over some churches defying lockdown rules and spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, Hannah Tamaki posted on Facebook to say the couple were now touring the country and would be in Invercargill this weekend.
In this afternoon's daily update, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the Tamakis' actions were "completely irresponsible".
He said he encouraged everybody to exercise their own judgment.
"Sneaking out of Auckland right at the beginning of a lockdown and having large gatherings of people is simply putting people at risk unnecessarily."
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said any breaches of the current health order which underpin alert levels are a wider government responsibility.
Read back through live updates from 3 March:
This is an official government Covid-19 announcement:
On 28 February, the Auckland region moved to Covid-19 Alert Level 3. The rest of New Zealand moved to Alert Level 2. This is for a period of seven days. Further community cases of Covid-19 have been identified in the Auckland Region. If you are in Auckland, stay home where possible, and follow Alert Level 3 guidelines. This will stop the transmission of Covid-19 and save lives. For more information on the alert levels go to covid19.govt.nz.
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Kia Kaha - Stay Strong