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Official figures show that 32 people violated the Covid-19 isolation rules during a 58-day period between April and June.
Rydges Hotel in Auckland. Source: Getty
The violations occurred between April 17 and June 14, either due to running away, not returning, or attempting to flee from the managed isolation facilities.
No one was charged, and the police or health officials warned and educated those who violated the rules.
Half of the infractions were people who did not return or were late after being granted an exemption to attend a funeral or tangi.
Seven rapes were people who escaped isolation, including four people who fled the Rydges Hotel in Auckland on 10 May.
The incident does not appear to have been publicly reported.
The four people were later found in the home of a relative.
After weighing the health risks, no charges were filed, but those involved were warned and educated.
The Ministry of Health conducted mobile tests of people with whom they had been in contact while they were out of isolation.
In a briefing sent to the police minister on June 22 and obtained under the Official Information Law, they said that the managed quarantine and isolation operation, called Operation Mercy, was run by the Ministry of Health and Defense Forces, not the police.
But the police helped locate and return people to isolation when asked.
The report said that “all the cases … were successfully resolved by the agencies involved.”
