Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has given the owners of BurgerFuel a stern message after people were seen standing close together in a queue outside one of the stores in Auckland's North Shore on the first day of Alert Level 3, while over 700 complaints have been made about flouting rules.
Video and images shared on social media show the large group queuing outside BurgerFuel in Glenfield last night, and police were called.
Ms Ardern said the images caused her "concern" and that officials had been in touch with the company's head office today to stress the rules for ensuring social distancing.
She said the conversation was "in order to ensure they understand their obligations and they will manage their ongoing trade from now on, because they certainly didn't fulfill their obligations last night".
BurgerFuel pledged today to up its game after saying it was "inundated" yesterday.
A police spokesperson earlier said: "We were called to a small number of incidents last night where people weren’t adhering to social distancing. One of these was a takeaway outlet in Glenfield.
"There was a large group congregating, police attended and education was given to ensure a better and safer process."
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said he also is concerned after seeing images of people congregating and not socially distancing. He has this morning put the call out for Aucklanders to continue following social distancing rules in Level 3.
“I know everyone is excited to return to some kind of normalcy with things like takeaways, coffee and some physical activities, but I am concerned about the lack of social distancing we are seeing,” said Mr Goff.
“If you are congregating, intentionally or unintentionally, to get food or coffee or at the park, this is going to hinder the good work we have all done over the five weeks of Level 4 lockdown."
Mr Goff said he knows it is hard but the rules need to be followed.
“No one wants a return to Level 4 lockdown again, but that will all be dependent on how well each and every one of us follows social distancing rules.”
North Shore councillor Richard Hills shared an image of the crowded queue on Twitter with the caption, "Oh man. I'm worried for us."
Dan Arakawa, who took the photos, said on social media that he hoped it would get sorted.
"How come people standing closer than social distance that we still have to follow? I know people are getting sick of lockdown but we are NOT in normal life aren't we???? We can do this better and hope this will get sorted."
Despite the BurgerFuel crowd, police said they were happy with the efforts made across Auckland yesterday.
"We just remind people to ensure they continue to keep a good distance from other members of our community and also understand that there may be queues to get your favourite takeaway so please continue to have patience."
A BurgerFuel spokesperson said: "Day one of re-opening saw our BurgerFuel stores inundated with a stampede of customers, way beyond what we had anticipated.
"Today we are working hard on a number of improvements to ensure the wellbeing of our customers and staff."
Online orders will now be limited and all stores will have a person controlling crowds outside.
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