March 31, 2020
Apanui ramps up boundary protection
Te Whānau ā Apanui has moved its lockdown alert to what it calls level five, discouraging people living in the rohe from moving outside.
Apanui Border Control organiser Rawiri Waititi says so far the traffic stops at Hawai, 27 kilometres from Opotiki, and Potaka 100 kilometres further east are working well, with essential services warned to avoid contact with locals and casual travellers turned away.
He says the iwi is trying to stock up the three shops in the rohe so people don’t need to travel outside.
"We've moved top level five so we have restricted the number of people coming in, we are now restricting the amount of people going out and ensuring we have the essential services here in Te Whānau ā Apanui in terms of shopping. The more our people are exposed to the outside the more likelihood they have of bringing COVID-19 into the iwi. Our objective is to ensure this virus does not hit the iwi and to keep our pakeke safe," Mr Waititi says.
He says people can continue to fish and hunt as long as they only do so within the bubble of the whanau they are living with.
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