Two tourists who travelled from South East Asia to New Zealand and did not self-isolate are to be booted out of the country.
Immigration officials said the pair put New Zealanders at risk with their “unacceptable behaviour”.
The move is the result of police gaining powers to check up on people who are supposed to be in self-isolation after some tourists refused to follow mandatory measures.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern enforced new rules requiring everyone arriving in the country to isolate themselves for 14 days in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Ms Ardern said the new rules gave New Zealand the toughest coronavirus-related travel restrictions in the world.
But police are not the only ones ensuring people abide by these new rules.
According to Newshub, a helicopter pilot cut short a glacier tour after realising the two tourists from South East Asia had not followed quarantine guidelines.
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The new border measures came into effect on Monday
The pair were reportedly on a fully packed scenic flight when the pilot asked how long they had been in the country.
When they said they arrived on Monday from Hong Kong, the pilot turned the helicopter around and took the couple to authorities to explain themselves.
In another incident reported by Newshub, a French tourist was caught shopping on the Wanaka beachfront.
A staff member at a local clothing store, Jai Jenkins, reportedly said the man was “super blasé”.
“He had said that he was on a working holiday visa and had just returned yesterday from Thailand,” Mr Jenkins told Newshub.
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“I then told him he should be self-isolating and asked him why he wasn’t and he was basically super blasé about it.”
Mr Jenkins reportedly tracked the man down later and reported it to police.
New Zealand’s Ministry of Health has set up an email address where members of the public can alert authorities to people with confirmed cases of coronavirus and breaches of rules such as self-isolation and mass gatherings.
The country recorded its biggest increase of COVID-19 cases in one day on Friday, taking the country’s total to 39.
