A Northland man is due to appear in court on Monday after he allegedly forced his way into an Auckland managed isolation facility to speak to an acquaintance.
The man, from Whangārei, entered a fenced-off area outside an unidentified managed isolation facility at around 12:20pm on Friday, a police spokesperson confirmed to Newshub.
The man made brief contact with an acquaintance staying at the facility, the spokesperson said, before fleeing from on-site police.
The 33-year-old managed to make it 158 kilometres back to Whangārei without detection, but was located by officers at an address on Saturday morning.
He has been charged with failing to comply with a COVID-19 order and unlawfully being in an enclosed area.
He is due to appear in Auckland District Court on Monday.
In a statement to NZME, head of managed isolation and quarantine, Air Commodore Darryn Webb, confirmed the 33-year-old would be isolated as a precautionary measure.
The new arrival who spoke to the man returned a negative result for the virus following routine testing on day three of their stay at the facility.
Webb said health officials have determined the contact to be "low risk" while the results of their second test are pending.
It's understood this latest incident was the first in a string of breaches where a member of the public spoke face-to-face with a returnee in isolation.
The border is currently open to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents, with some exemptions granted to critical workers. All new arrivals must complete the mandatory 14 days of isolation upon arrival at one of the country's 31 managed isolation and quarantine facilities.
The Government intends to charge returnees for their two-week stay. It is currently proposed that each adult will face a $3100 fee, plus $950 for each additional adult to a room and $475 for each additional child.
On Wednesday night, a 45-year-old woman was caught sneaking into a managed isolation facility in Rotorua.
A police spokesperson confirmed to Newshub that the woman was trespassed from the unnamed facility after entering "for a very brief period".
The woman had no contact with staff or new arrivals completing their 14-day stay at the facility.
She has been charged with unlawfully being on the property.
