Northlander in coronavirus isolation: 'Bloody boring but right thing to do'

Northland man Joey Rapana is in voluntary self-isolation after a holiday in Bali. Photo / Joey Rapana

Self-isolation after overseas travel is ''bloody boring'' but it's the right thing to do, a Northland man says.

Joey Rapana, of Taumatamakuku Settlement, near Moerewa, arrived home last Friday after a nine-day family holiday on Bali.

Although they got home before strict new self-isolation rules came into force at 1am on Monday for almost all international arrivals, the whānau decided to go into self isolation for two weeks anyway as a precaution.

All seven in the group made the choice when they arrived at Auckland Airport, he said.

Hand sanitiser was provided everywhere they went in Bali and they brought plenty along themselves, as well as face masks, so they felt confident they hadn't picked up the Covid-19 virus on the island.

''But we wanted to be safe rather than sorry. What if we were carrying it and didn't have the symptoms? None of us had a cough but when we were on the plane, in that confined space for nearly nine hours, we did hear people coughing ... So we made the decision to limit who we visit.''

Rapana said his main problem now was boredom.

There was only so much cleaning that could be done around the house and even the chook pen had had a thorough clean-out.

He was grateful for the internet and took the odd trip in the car, but getting groceries was difficult because supermarkets wouldn't deliver to rural areas.

Rapana lived with his daughter, who was also in isolation, and his nephew's family, who weren't. They were keeping to separate parts of the house and constantly wiping down any shared surfaces.

''It's quite restricting really but it's definitely the right thing to do,'' he said.

Meanwhile, health bosses say anyone who arrives in New Zealand and refuses to self-isolate could be fined.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said all tourists would have to outline their self-isolation plan on arrival, and if it wasn't good enough they could be refused entry.

Arrivals were registered and spot checks would ensure self-isolation compliance.

Many of the 10,500 New Zealanders who had so far isolated themselves had been overly compliant with some staying home more than the required 14 days.

Authorities, including police, had the power to quarantine people at a medical facility. That power had not been used so far.