Kristin Macfarlane: Concerns over Rotorua as a quarantine base justified

Rotorua is now a quarantine base for international travellers. Photo/ Andrew Warner

When international travellers are sent into your region amid the re-emergence of Covid-19 in New Zealand an outcry by those who live there has to be expected.

It's likely to come from a place of fear and surprise and yesterday, the Bay of Plenty woke to the revelation that Kiwis returning to New Zealand from overseas had been bused to Rotorua to quarantine at two hotels in the city.

Unsurprisingly, the news was met with shock.

Two new managed Covid-19 isolation facilities were created in Rotorua at the weekend after Auckland reached capacity. Those new facilities will now house Kiwis who have returned home from their international travels.

Rotorua's mayor Steve Chadwick said she was notified of the decision on Friday and informed on Saturday that the Defence Force was bringing people in that night. She said the city had no choice in the matter but Rotorua was not the only centre being used for managed isolation.

Last week The Bay had a Covid-19 scare when it was revealed a flight attendant on the plane with two women who had been confirmed to have Covid-19 — New Zealand's first cases in more than three weeks — had visited Rotorua and been in contact with students from a local school.

The attendant's test had come back negative but obviously created some concerns.
Now, with 232 Kiwis who have returned to New Zealand from overseas isolating in Rotorua people want to know procedures are strictly in place to ensure residents are not at risk.

And rightly so.

The Lakes and Bay of Plenty District Health Board areas have been coronavirus-free since May.

We followed the rules throughout the alert levels and would have felt a sense of security that we were out of the danger zone.

This latest development, however, has sparked fear and uncertainty and concerns that business confidence will take a hit.

Hotels in the city will no doubt need the cashflow boost that comes with being a quarantine base, but at what cost do we want that happening?

Chadwick says she has been assured the operation under way is "watertight" and although we can only take the word of those behind the move, it won't alleviate the concerns from many in the community.

For now, all we can do is wait and hope that there is no risk to those in our communities.

Only time will tell.