Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield Ashley Bloomfield says New Zealand has no new Covid-19 cases. There were 6273 tests completed yesterday and a total os 327,460 total tests.
A Whangārei mother is frustrated after her daughter was released from a Covid-19 quarantine facility without being tested - only for them both to be tested just days later.
The mother, who preferred to remain anonymous, spoke to the Northern Advocate yesterday about the "horrible" ordeal she and her daughter went through after the daughter spent two weeks in Auckland's Novotel quarantine facility.
The daughter returned to New Zealand on May 30 after flying in from Melbourne where she had been living for 14 months. She then went to the quarantine facility and stayed for 14 days until Saturday, June 13.
People look out of their hotel room window at the Novotel in Ellerslie, now a quarantine facility. Photo / File
During that time, she underwent daily temperature checks and received what was described by her mother as "quite comprehensive" questioning regarding her health and whether she had any symptoms.
In her first week, the daughter was offered the chance to be tested for Covid-19, which she turned down because she felt fine, her temperature checks had been consistently normal and she believed she didn't need one if they were voluntary.
"[Staff] didn't tell her not to have [the test], they didn't tell her that she should have it, but they didn't say there was an urgency to have it," the mother said.
On June 9, five days before the daughter left the facility, director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced all people in quarantine facilities would be tested on day three and day 12 of their stay.
Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Photo / File
People had the right to refuse the test, but that would mean they would have to stay in the facility for a further 14 days (28 in total).
The mother said her daughter was not approached about having a test for the remainder of her stay.
On the last day of her daughter's quarantine, the mother said she was only contacted by her daughter to pick her up and not by anyone at the facility - which then got her in trouble with the facility's security.
"We weren't even told how to go about picking her up," she said.
"I am very [disappointed] absolutely, because the security guard told me off like I was a kid."
The pair then drove to Whangārei that day but it wasn't until Tuesday evening when the mother learned the two Covid-19 positive women, who had arrived from the UK recently, had been incorrectly released from the same facility on the same day before their test result was known.
"That's when my panic button or my alerts started going off," the mother said.
Northland's first case was announced on March 17. Photo / File
After ringing Healthline, the pair were contacted by the Northland District Health Board which said they both needed to be tested - which was conducted at their house on Wednesday.
The pair wouldn't hear anything about their test results until yesterday when the mother rang Whangārei Hospital and were told their negative test results had been determined half an hour earlier.
"I just thought, 'Oh cool, why didn't you ring me half an hour earlier'," she said.
The Northland District Health Board did not respond to the Advocate's request for comment before deadline.
As soon as the pair realised their possible link to the Covid-19-positive women, they had been self-isolating at home. However, the pair had had a stressful wait for their test results as the mother had gone to work on Monday - under the impression her daughter was Covid-19 clear.
"At the end of the day, my daughter had done her time, that was the rules - 14 days and that's it."
The mother said the whole ordeal had been stressful and hoped others hadn't shared their experience.
"It's pissed me off and we have just been highly frustrated over the whole thing.
"[My daughter] has come into the country, she's done her two weeks, she's spent two weeks away from any of her family, she stayed in her room the whole time - apart from two times to get groceries from the foyer - and then to have to come home and do it again because these women were allowed out, it's just frustrating."
The Ministry of Health did not respond to the Advocate's request for comment before deadline yesterday.
Whangārei MP Dr Shane Reti said Northland's good response to Covid-19 had been needlessly threatened by what he considered a "failed quarantine system".
"I'm very pleased for her and her daughter that the outcome has been good, but I'm really disappointed with the system and I'm very disappointed with the way the system put Northland at risk," he said.
Reti promised he would hold Health Minister David Clark to account for the error.
"I will let [Clark] know that Northland was put at risk and Northlanders are very unhappy with what's eventuated here.
"We are lucky we have got out of this with a good outcome and that's no thanks to the poor management of isolation in Auckland under his care."
Reti confirmed he had sent an email to Clark yesterday, questioning why the quarantined Northlander was allowed to leave the facility without exit testing.
