A COVID-19 positive man who escaped from the Jet Park quarantine hotel has been arrested by police.
Police say the man escaped around 3:15pm on Monday and was found half an hour later outside a house on Kohindoor Avenue in Mangere. He's been taken into police custody and is expected to appear in court tomorrow.
A police spokesperson told Newshub staff involved in the arrest "took all necessary precautions with PPE".
Neither Police nor the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, which oversees the MIQ system, could explain how the man fled the facility.
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Jet Park is the main Auckland facility that accommodates COVID-19-positive cases.
The joint head of MIQ, Brigadier Rose King, said it should not have happened.
"The fact someone has absconded from one of our facilities is a disappointing and unacceptable breach. We are investigating how this happened."
A source that works at MIQ told Newshub's Investigations Reporter Michael Morrah that the behaviour of some community cases at the Jetpark had been worrying.
"The behaviour of some guests is threatening and it's making staff question their safety," the source said.
Newshub has put these concerns to Police and MBIE, but is yet to get a response.
