Man who stayed in same hotel as two of NZ's Covid-19 cases highlights disparities between facilities

A man identified as a contact of the two women who have tested positive for Covid-19 this week has highlighted disparities between different managed isolation and quarantine facilities in New Zealand.

Cayden Wilson arrived from Australia on June 9 and was initially placed in managed isolation in Auckland, but was one of a group of people moved to Christchurch last week.

Not only does Mr Wilson say he had to ask to be tested after it was revealed he had been in contact with the two Covid-19 cases, but he believes the isolation protocols in the Ellerslie hotel they were staying in were far too relaxed.

“Isolation was way more relaxed than I thought it would be in Auckland. It's a lot more strict in Christchurch,” Mr Wilson told TVNZ1’s Breakfast. 

"In Christchurch, we’re allowed to go out for walks but there’s sort of set times."

Mr Wilson says he was able to mix and mingle with anyone else in isolation at the Ellerslie hotel, and says guests weren't expected to wear masks.

Though there were rules at the Auckland hotel, he says they weren’t easy to follow.

“There are rules set in place like the two-metre social distancing rule but sometimes that can be hard to follow, especially when Uber Eats are coming in and out of the hotel - you’re walking straight past them…It was different.

“At the time, I didn’t really think of it. I just followed what everyone else was doing… But now that I look at it, there needed to be changes.”

Mr Wilson was in the same facility as the women for five days, but said he wasn't tested before his flight to the Christchurch facility. He says he had to ask to be tested on his eighth day in isolation after he’d arrived in Christchurch.

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