West Coast Civil Defence branches have been asked to look at setting up checkpoints on the roads into the region.

West Coast Civil Defence groups have been asked to find a way to set up checkpoints to stop people travelling into the region.

Westland and Grey District authorities hope plans for checkpoints on the four highways into the region will be ready within a day as the fight to contain coronavirus continues.

But Buller's mayor is "not a big fan" of checkpoints, and has not instructed the district's Civil Defence staff to consider the option.

SUPPLIED Grey mayor Tania Gibson says the possible checkpoints are not about the West Coast versus everyone else, but a matter of getting through this time. (File photo)

As of 9am Tuesday, there were four confirmed or suspected cases in the region and the country's only Covid-19-related death happened in Greymouth.

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Grey mayor Tania Gibson said members of the Grey and Westland district councils had met and were all in favour of the checkpoints because they knew that was what the community wanted.

There were concerns about people travelling to the West Coast for Easter weekend, despite the level four coronavirus restrictions barring people from moving between districts.

Gibson said she had heard reports of people driving to holiday homes in Moana under the cover of darkness, or driving to Haast to hunt.

The Grey council had been advised a recent change to legislation meaning checkpoints could now be legally put in place, she said.

JOANNE CARROLL/STUFF Westland mayor Bruce Smith says there is a feeling Easter weekend will be "out of control" with people trying to enter the West Coast. (File photo)

The region's Civil Defence offices had been asked to come back to the councils about whether checkpoints could be set up and how they could be managed.

Gibson said it was not about the West Coast versus everyone else, but about getting through this time.

If people did not move into the region and coronavirus was under control there, miners and industrial workers would be able to get back to their jobs sooner, she said.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF 03032020 news photo Alden Williams/Stuff Westport flooding feature. Buller mayor Jamie Cleine.

Westland mayor Bruce Smith said Civil Defence had been given "strong direction" to liaise with police and work out how to check those travelling in or out of the region.

There were concerns Easter weekend would be "out of control" with people trying to enter the region, as it was peak hunting season due to the roar (or red deer mating season) and a good time of year for fishing.

Smith said having checkpoints would ensure people complied with the coronavirus restrictions so there was the best possible chance the alert level could be lowered and the "significant" economic damage the West Coast was suffering could be reduced.

The best way to do that was to make sure the virus was not brought into the area, he said.

He was hopeful Civil Defence would have a plan ready by Tuesday evening or Wednesday.

The region's councils had been discussing checkpoints for more than two weeks, he said.

Buller mayor Jamie Cleine said he was not a big fan of checkpoints. If they were not based off good data, it ran the risk of creating more problems than it solved.

He said it could lead to a false sense of security in the community, while there was still a risk the virus was already there.

Cleine was sympathetic to the other mayors' views and said he would not rule checkpoints if the evidence supported it.