Police are investigating another escape from managed isolation.
At 11pm on Friday, the person in their 60s broke the window of the Waipuna Hotel in Auckland and climbed out of the building.
They then scaled the fence and began to knock on the doors of neighbouring homes.
According to Air Commodore Darryn Webb, who is in charge of managed isolation, the people at the first property did not answer the door, the second called emergency services and at the third the escapee spoke to a couple.
Police located and retrieved the person about 12:15pm, Webb says.
Webb says the escapee is considered low risk for COVID-19. They had returned to New Zealand on July 4 and tested negative on their third day of isolation.
They are symptom free and will be tested again on day 12.
The escape is the fourth since Saturday, when a woman scaled two fences to escape from Auckland's Pullman Hotel. She was out of isolation for more than an hour.
On Tuesday, a 32-year-old man snuck through a gap in the Stamford Plaza fencing and visited an inner city supermarket. The following day he tested positive for COVID-19.
The third person to have allegedly escaped from managed isolation was Martin James McVicar, who appeared in court on Friday. McVicar had been staying at the Distinction Hotel in Hamilton after returning to New Zealand from Sydney on July 1.
As a result of the breaches in security the Minister in charge of managed isolation, Megan Woods, announced on Thursday all isolation facilities will have a 24/7 police presence to keep people inside and stop the spread of COVID-19.
