Corona: Indian man in isolation runs away in Auckland, visits mall; faces $4,000 penalty, jail

Auckland: A 32-year-old man, who recently returned from India and tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, will be charged with missing from a managed isolation facility in Auckland to go to a supermarket, according to media reports.

The man, New Zealand’s latest new case of COVID-19, escaped through a fenced area from an isolation facility at about 6:50 pm local time on Tuesday, the New Zealand Herald reported.

He has been sent to a quarantine facility after he was confirmed to have the coronavirus. However, the man was asymptomatic and did not appear to have come into close or casual contact with anyone, the report said.

The man, whose identity was not immediately known, came from Delhi on July 3, it added.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins has slammed the man’s actions as “selfish” and says he will face charges, the report said.

A security guard was observing the area but confused the man with contractors working on the fencing. The alarm was raised within minutes but security were unable to find the man.

The man may have spent 20 minutes in the supermarket on Victoria St West, and he returned of his own volition 70 minutes after leaving, the report added.

He will be charged and now face up to a six-month jail sentence or a $4000 fine, the report added.

After the man’s positive test result came today, the supermarket staff are now self-isolating and will also be tested for the virus, the Stuff reported.