Possibility of two or three isolation hotels in Dunedin

Two or three isolation hotels could be set up in Dunedin, but Invercargill and Queenstown have been ruled out as isolation locations, Minister Megan Woods says.

Dr Woods - appointed the minister in charge of the facilities - is being joined at a media stand-up in Dunedin by Air Commodore Darryn Webb who is operationally in control of the facilities.

She said she had met with authorities in Dunedin, which was still being considered as an isolation location. They had toured possible hotels and two or three could be stood up in Dunedin.

There was no timeline for a decision, but Dunedin residents would know "very soon".

There would be four defence staff per facility, four aviation security, other security and a health team per facility.

The facilities would not just be for people from the lower South Island.

One facility would have quarantine capacity for people who tested for Covid-19. 

Dr Woods ruled out Invercargill and Queenstown as isolation locations

This was due to a combination of health capacity issues and also the availability of isolation locations. She indicated health capacity  was the issue in Queenstown, whereas the lack of suitable locations was the issue in Invercargill.

She said the meeting in Dunedin showed agencies in the city wanted to "do their bit to help New Zealanders return home".

Megan Woods ruled out Invercargill and Queenstown as isolation locations. Photo: Darryl Baser

More deportees returning from Australia 

She said a further 501 deportees from Australia were scheduled to fly in to New Zealand next week.

Webb, who is in charge of operations at the facilities, said the current capacity was 6513 people across 31 facilities. Capacity would be further expanded in the next week.

There were 17 recommendations around resourcing, lines of accountability and processes from the review of the end-to-end system, and 12 had already been implemented.

He said processes had been tightened especially around arrivals and transport from the airport to a facility.

Woods said she had not heard about reports about used PPE and water bottles in the Jet Park in Auckland, where positive Covid people or people with symptoms are held.

She said there were clear protocols and those rooms were routinely deep-cleaned.

A new health order came into effect on Tuesday, she said, which clarified that accountability for quarantine and managed isolation facilities sat with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

As of July 14, more than 29,000 people had come through facilities across five cities in NZ - Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch.

The number of expected arrivals in the next week is 1800, but that swells to 2800 the following week. This is balanced by roughly the same number of people expected to leave the facilities in the next fortnight.

There are currently about 5000 people in these hotels, with the capacity to take 1847 more people.

Webb has said a number of issues needed to be considered for facilities - and cities - to be deemed suitable. People need their own bathrooms, for example, and Queenstown doesn't have a hospital. 

At the start of this month, Dr Woods confirmed the Government was investigating Queenstown and Dunedin as centres where returnees could stay in managed isolation.

• False negatives the big risk for Covid-19 - expert

In June, when the idea was first mooted, Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult pushed back against the idea of quarantine operations moving to the struggling resort town due to the Government’s recent "own goals".

Mr Boult said Queenstown Lakes, which had had 87 Covid-19 cases, did not want any more.

Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins said it was Dunedin’s duty as "part of the team of five million" to host New Zealanders needing quarantine facilities as long as systems were in place to protect the community and keep everyone safe.

Dr Woods took on the ministerial oversight of border isolation and quarantine operations in June.

The border blunder which allowed two British women to leave quarantine and later test positive for Covid-19 prompted the Government to put Air Com Webb in charge of the facilities and operation.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment was made the lead agency.

There have been four escapes from isolation including a Queenstown man who allegedly absconded from the Distinction Hotel in Hamilton and went to a nearby liquor store where he picked up a four-pack of European beer and red wine before leaving, and a woman who allegedly scaled two fences to escape from a managed isolation facility in Auckland and was bailed to a Dunedin address until her next court appearance.

Five officers who came into contact with the woman while capturing her had to undergo Covid-19 testing and go into self-isolation for two weeks.

Every person who arrives in New Zealand must stay in the isolation facilities for a minimum period of 14 days.

They must also test negative for Covid-19 before they can go into the community.

Air Com Webb said last week that 27,723 people had gone through managed isolation since March 26.

Of those, the "vast majority" were adhering to the rules and taking their responsibilities seriously, he said. 

 - additional reporting by NZ Herald