The quarantine operation at the Sudima Hotel in Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua residents are being told to take a breath, calm down and trust the Government has made the right move in allowing Rotorua to be a quarantine base.
But others still aren't convinced saying the local economy is already fragile and this has the potential to "destroy" the city's domestic tourism market.
There are 232 Kiwis now in quarantine in the Ibis Hotel and the Sudima Hotel in Rotorua after the Government needed more quarantine beds once the Auckland hotels it was using reached capacity.
Both Rotorua hotels had not been open since before lockdown and there is strict security around the hotels.
The travellers will be tested after three days and just before leaving unless showing symptoms of coronavirus. Anyone who has symptoms or who has tested positive is not kept in Rotorua.
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield today reassured the public of Rotorua, saying the Government had "a lot" of experience on how to handle managed isolation safely.
"We will be taking very, very strict precautions to make sure facilities are well cleaned."
New Zealand's 24-day run of zero cases came to an end last week and there are now nine active Covid-19 patients in the country.
Waiariki MP Tāmati Coffey said he was disappointed with some people's attitudes in Rotorua.
"My message to locals is to calm down and take a breath. These are our people, they are New Zealanders and they are coming home.
"In Rotorua, we do manaakitanga well and so I'd really like us not to drop the ball on this one. These are our own people."
He also warned against spreading rumours on social media that weren't true.
"We do live in a world of rapid news and fake news so people need to be really aware of the things that are coming out. Is it a legitimate source that you are reading from?"
He reminded locals that anyone who tested positive for Covid-19 or had symptoms would be kept in Auckland and that the Government had shut down compassionate leave for things such as funerals.
"I know that our locals will be nervous and they will be anxious but we are just trying to insert some facts."
Coffey said he did a Facebook live on Sunday outside the Ibis Hotel where a young man was waving to his Rotorua mother whom he hadn't seen for a long time.
"He wasn't able to touch or hug her like he wanted to. She was waving to him and she was crying in the carpark. He's been on the other side of the world for a few years and he's been wanting to come home and now he's suddenly being treated very badly by some of our locals, and I'm disappointed in that, actually."
Coffey said one of the hotel's workers contacted him and thanked him for providing balance to the situation.
"She said 'Our people we have here at Ibis are here for many reasons. Some have terminal cancer and are coming home and some are the family of the fallen police officer'."
Coffey said that, as an MP in Rotorua, he wasn't asked for approval but he didn't expect to be.
Coffey said motels and hotels were doing it tough since the pandemic.
"These hotels volunteered themselves to be part of this. This wasn't something that was forced on them."
The hotels were approached for comment but didn't respond.
Rotorua police area commander Inspector Phil Taikato said locals shouldn't be alarmed.
"Police are getting a lot of flack re lack of visibility around the quarantine hotels but we are there and have been since their arrival. The Defence Force has a flawless system in place supported by Aviation Security, Watchdog Security, police and the Lakes District Health Board doing what they do well. The hotels are watertight and the community shouldn't be concerned."
Taikato said some of the New Zealanders returning might find it difficult to adjust to their strict quarantine conditions but there would be no bending of rules.
"Many have been living overseas where there are relaxed lockdown rules but here in New Zealand we have lived it and made the sacrifice."
Treewalk co-founder and director Bruce Thomasen said Rotorua needed to trust the process.
"A well-managed quarantine process and system is the next steps for repatriating Kiwis over the next several months. It is essential that this is managed well so we can all trust the process."
He said a lot of the hysteria was around Rotorua being the first city outside of Auckland or Christchurch as a quarantine base.
However, he said no doubt there would be more cities used in the future as it was estimated there would be 60,000 to 100,000 Kiwis returning in the coming months.
He said as long as it was managed well, there was no difference in having them in Auckland hotels.
"We just need to calm down. Auckland has most of the visitors staying there and people are functioning and going to school in Auckland."
However, former Rotorua mayor Grahame Hall felt differently saying those who decided to send them to Rotorua had no idea how fragile the local economy was.
"We have taken a huge hit and are still hurting deeply with no overseas visitors and the decision to use local hotels for quarantine purposes has the potential to completely destroy our domestic visitor market.
"We are quite happy to play our part and look after our community as part of the Covid-19 recovery but we have already been dumped on with hundreds of homeless from out of town and we are now being dumped on again with hundreds of people sent here to be isolated."
Hall said those in quarantine should be kept in the large metropolitan areas and not spread down to vulnerable provincial cities like Rotorua.
"This latest move could have a devastating effect on the numbers of people coming to Rotorua for the school holidays and others looking for a safe destination to visit in the coming weeks.
"The security system has already had a major breach. Because of this, the level of trust by many has diminished.
"It is not a matter of being unsympathetic, unfair or dramatic. It is simply a matter of our district economy not being able to afford the risk of another big hit."
