National MP Michael Woodhouse claimed today that the pair, who travelled from London to New Zealand, had to meet someone for help with directions.
A homeless man sneaked into a five-star hotel used as a quarantine facility and stayed there for two weeks, claims opposition health spokesman Michael Woodhouse.
The hotel is being used to house new arrivals until their 14-day mandatory quarantine period.
National MP Michael Woodhouse claims a "reliable source" told the National Party the homeless man pretended he was a new arrival completing his 14-day isolation.
Woodhouse told the AM show that although the story is currently "unverified", he said his source is an Auckland-based health professional.
He called out the Ministry of Health for the "shambles" quarantine has become.
"One of the five-star hotels housed a homeless person for a couple of weeks under the pretense that it was someone who came back from overseas. When the person was ready for discharge, he was asked for a forwarding address, only to tell the official that he didn't have one - because he was homeless," Woodhouse told the AM Show.
"He hadn't come back from overseas, he just joined the back of the queue two weeks ago, and spent a fortnight getting three square meals and a bath every day on the Government.
"It just shows what a shambles this thing is. The ministry should be managing this - it's not actually rocket science."
He called on authorities to investigate the claim.
Woodhouse also said a woman who had been jailed for not complying with isolation protocol had been released from Wiri Prison before her Covid-19 test came back positive.
He claimed police had to "scramble to try and find her" as they didn't know where she went after release.
"That was several weeks ago. The ministry knows about it, but you don't."
Yesterday, Woodhouse broke the news that the two women who left quarantine to attend a funeral in Wellington had not been truthful about their journey to the capital.
He said a source told him the two women were in a borrowed car and got lost on their way from Auckland to Wellington so stopped and asked for directions.
The women thanked their helper with a "kiss and a cuddle", Woodhouse claimed in the House.
Speaking to reporters later, Woodhouse said: "Last night I received information from a reliable but confidential source that the story of an uninterrupted trip from Auckland to Wellington was not accurate."
The pair had become lost as they tried to leave Auckland, he reiterated.
"They called on some acquaintances for help with directions. When they were there, there was close physical contact, including a cuddle and a kiss.
"I'm calling on Minister [David Clark] to require the director general [of health Ashley Bloomfield] to look deeper into the circumstances of that journey, and reassure himself he's got all the facts."
He said the source was "very reliable" and "closely connected".
The story that Bloomfield had told may not be all that it seems, Woodhouse said.
Bloomfield hit back this morning, claiming it was a "fleeting interaction" and both the friends had been tested and were now in isolation.
"We wouldn't even usually consider a close contact," he told RNZ.
"They were not hugs and kisses. There was a very fleeting arm put around the women to provide comfort.
