The Director-General of Health has assured the public that Government-run managed isolation facilities keep the public safe from Covid-19 despite five recent cases and examples of border bungles.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield maintained New Zealand had a “very safe system at our border”, even more so now with the additional “safety net” of Covid-19 testing at day three and 12 during people’s stay at the isolation facilities.
“We have not seen any further infections as a result of people in managed isolation,” he said, whether it be while people were in facilities or after their stay.
He said this was the case for over 19,000 Kiwis who went through the facilities over the past few months.
Dr Bloomfield said the 14-day long isolation remained the “mainstay” of preventing the virus re-entering the community.
“By the time they leave, they are well past that period they are infectious.”
He said managed isolation facilities, if shared with the public, had strict protocols in place which were designed to keep people quarantining and the public separated.
“The extent to which those processes are in place… remarkable,” Dr Bloomfield said of his visit to one facility.
He said "fleeting" interactions with anyone in managed isolation, like walking past them, didn't pose a risk.
The comments come as details surrounding border bungles and five Covid-19 cases from overseas were announced in the past week.
Yesterday, it emerged a woman and her family on the same flight as the two Covid-19 cases from the UK announced on Tuesday left isolation in Auckland three days ago without being tested as she was told it was optional.
Mel Langsford said she was told the test would be ineffective if she didn’t have symptoms.
“We left the isolation facility three days ago, we were not tested before we left the managed facility, we still haven't been tested or followed up with.”
1 NEWS also revealed on Thursday guests who stayed at the same hotel as the two positive cases from the UK were flown to Christchurch part-way through their isolation, and they weren’t tested for Covid-19 first.
Cayden Wilson was in the same facility as the women for five days, but said he wasn't tested before the flight and had to ask to be tested on his eighth day in isolation after he’d arrived in Christchurch.
“It’s pretty scary, I never thought I'd be in that position to be a close contact to someone," he said.
"But the fact that I didn't require a test at first when I called the nurses was scary too because I wanted that peace of mind.”
On Wednesday, it emerged a birthday party for a young girl was arranged between those in isolation who should not be mingling.
Last Friday, 1 NEWS revealed recently returned Kiwis were mingling with others from different flights inside Auckland’s Crowne Plaza hotel, and were coming into close contact with the public during daily guided walks.
Dr Bloomfield said the end-to-end audit ordered by the recently-named "head of managed isolation and quarantine" Air Commodore Darren Webb would assess whether managed isolation processes were “rock solid”.
There are 15 managed isolation facilities in Auckland and Christchurch.
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