Anger and despair are building inside an Auckland isolation hotel as guests who shared an exercise bus with a Covid-19 case are told they now face another fortnight confined to their rooms.
Stuff has spoken with three guests at the Grand Mercure who shared a bus to an exercise area with a man from the United Kingdom who tested positive on day 12 of his managed isolation stint.
The guests were initially told they would only have a few days tacked on to their stay.
But on Wednesday afternoon, an official called people who were on the Saturday bus, who were set for release that day or earlier, and said they would be remaining at the hotel until April 4.
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The official explanation, according to the guests, was that the case had not sat in his designated seat for the return journey.
Because they could not confirm where the man sat, everyone on that Sunday was being treated as a close contact.
They are now required to complete another full 14 days in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ), according to a matching account of the phone call provided by the three guests, who do not know each other.
Officials found out about the man’s positive test while the guests were at the exercise area in Mt Albert but he was allowed back on to the bus to the downtown isolation hotel.
Guests from different isolation hotels are kept in separate pens but are at the field at the same time. (File photo)
Steve Emmerson, who is returning to New Zealand after working in mining in the Pilbara, Western Australia, is among the guests facing a stay of up to 28 days.
They told us the worst case would be three more days. Then they say no, you are starting again.
In addition to the man changing seats, the official told Emmerson he was being treated as a close contact because the bus was overcrowded.
Returnees can relax in the centre of the pens or walk (not run) around their perimeter. (File photo)
He said he sought assurances he would not be taken on the buses to exercise areas with guests from countries at high risk of Covid-19 and was told he would not.
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Officials later said the man travelled from the United Kingdom via Singapore.
Emmerson, who is coming home permanently to work in Otago and be closer to his daughter, said he was finding it difficult not being allowed outside for fresh air or exercise, with loud road works starting at dawn and tempers flaring in the smoking area below his room.
I live in the outdoors, I have never stayed in Auckland.
Recently returned New Zealand citizens in MIQ are being bussed to an exercise area at Unitec. (File photo)
Another guest facing a 28-day lag, who did not want to be named, said the extension was a blow to his mental health.
I am losing my mind in this place.
A third, who also requested anonymity because of the nature of their work, called for the guests staying an additional 14 days to be given the vaccine to protect us from serious harm.
It is the minimum they need to do, the guest said.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, which oversees MIQ, and the Ministry of Health did not respond to questions by deadline.
The practice of bussing returnees at downtown hotels across the city for exercise was derided two months ago by epidemiologist Nick Wilson but has continued.
Even though mask wearing on buses will help masks are not perfect, Wilson said.
The authorities are not recognising how infectious this pandemic virus is and with the new variants it is even more so.
This has to be one of the stupidest practices in MIQ, along with shared smoking areas and double bunking Russian mariners, Wilson said.
An MIQ spokesman earlier said in a statement there were no plans to stop bussing returnees to exercise areas.
However, the Ministry of Health and Managed Isolation and Quarantine continue to regularly review our policies and procedures to ensure they remain fit for purpose.
MIQ is undertaking an internal investigation to determine what happened in this case and what improvements can be made to strengthen our processes.
We understand this disruption to returnees plans will be distressing. However, the safety of all returnees, our staff and the wider community remains our top priority.