City hotels assessed as isolation facilities

Aaron Hawkins
Aaron Hawkins
Dunedin hotels have been inspected and officials are assessing which ones may be suitable as isolation facilities for New Zealanders arriving from overseas.

The Government’s managed isolation and quarantine unit is yet to decide which hotels will be used but discussions have been progressing.

"The process once a suitable facility is chosen and contracted is that staffing requirements will then be ascertained and a multi-agency team put in place," a Covid-19 response group spokeswoman said.

Each team would provide health and wellbeing support, security and assistance to guests, hotel staff and workers for government agencies.

Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins sought security assurances from the Government when Isolation and Quarantine Minister Megan Woods and Air Commodore Darryn Webb, who oversee isolation facilities, visited Dunedin last Friday.

"A range of scenarios for managed isolation were raised at the meeting on Friday," Mr Hawkins said.

"From that, I’m confident that risks presented at the airport, in transit and through daily exercise could be managed safely.

"Exactly how that’s done will depend on the decisions the minister and air commodore make about if and where they put people up in Dunedin."

Mr Hawkins had flagged those concerns earlier but said he believed the community wanted to play its part and discussions had been constructive.

"It’s important for people to remember that we have fewer than 30 active cases of Covid-19 in the country, all in managed isolation, out of a total of around 30,000 returning New Zealanders.

"There are currently no cases of community transmission."

The Government has suggested regional lockdowns are an option if community transmission does take hold.

Otago Southland Employers Association chief executive Virginia Nicholls said many people feared their businesses would not survive another lockdown.

"There is concern that any managed isolation and quarantine that occurs in our region is managed appropriately," she said.

"Different organisations would like to bring in international students, sports teams and film studio productions, to name a few, with the appropriate user-pays managed isolation and quarantine."

The University of Otago has not undertaken any planning to provide quarantine services for incoming students. Any who return from overseas are expected to come through the government-operated facilities.

 

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