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The National Party believes it is time to move the Managed Isolation and Quarantine Hotels (MIQ) out of central Auckland.
The party’s Covid-19 spokesperson, Chris Bishop, called on the government to investigate the construction of dedicated quarantine facilities near the airport.
Bishop said that since Covid-19 is likely to be with us for some time, it is time to move from the ad-hoc collection of hotels turned quarantine facilities and create something specially designed.
David White / Stuff
The Pullman Hotel has reopened as an isolation hotel run at 50 percent capacity after closing for an intensive deep cleaning after guests tested positive for Covid-19 after leaving.
Bishop said that now that the government is retrofitting MIQ hotels, such as the Pullman, with better air conditioning to prevent transmission within the hotel, it makes sense to consider building a dedicated facility from scratch.
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“The Government is transporting people, some of whom come from high-risk locations, to hotels that, by definition, have shared spaces and are not suitable for managed isolation and quarantine.
“They are inherently risky buildings,” Bishop said.
He noted that the Australian state of Victoria was looking to build a dedicated quarantine facility.
Of the 32 hotels in the MIQ system in New Zealand, 18 are in Auckland. Of those 18, the majority are in central Auckland.
The government has previously been skeptical of the idea of moving quarantined hotels out of their central locations in the city.
Ministers have said that moving the facilities to more rural parts of the country is impractical as it would be difficult to find staff for the staff. They also said hotels should be close to a hospital, given the likelihood that at least some returnees would need hospital care.
A government spokesman said “a number of factors are taken to determine the best locations for MIQ, including access to medical facilities and public health units and international travel arrivals.”
DAVID UNWIN / STUFF / Things
Chris Bishop says it’s time to consider building a dedicated quarantine facility.
National’s plan is intended to address both of these problems by building a facility on the outskirts of Auckland, close to Auckland workers and the city’s health system.
“The recent Pullman hotel cases showed how much risk Auckland is at from another outbreak in the community due to entrenched issues with MIQ,” Bishop said.
He said the “cabin-style hub” being designed outside of Melbourne’s CBD is a model New Zealand could follow.
“This facility will likely be a village of single-story prefabricated structures with separate ventilation systems for each room. The returnees share the facility but not the same roof.
“Having enough fresh air reduces the risk of airborne transmission among returnees, while the isolated location makes it difficult for the virus to reach densely populated urban areas where it can spread faster.
“Separate facilities on site for staff also decrease the chance that they will bring Covid-19 into the community,” Bishop said in a statement, saying a similar facility could be built near Auckland Airport.
Bishop said both government funding and private equity could fund the plan; with the Government using fast track powers to consent to the facility and build it. A private provider could build the facility and lease it to the government with some costs recovered from returnees.
The facility could be converted to a permanent quarantine facility or converted to social or private housing after the pandemic.
“Yes, it will be incredibly expensive,” Bishop said.
“But firstly, MIQ is expensive and you have to compare it to the cost of closures,” he said.
