Covid 19 coronavirus: How Auckland YWCA hostel manager kept 140 residents safe in isolation

An Auckland hostel manager has revealed the impressive steps she has taken to ensure her 140 residents have been safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The YWCA hostel in Auckland contains 173 bedrooms that house international students, or people from outside Auckland who need residency. It has six floors, with three dedicated to women.

After the announcement was made that the country was going into level 3 on Monday, March 23 and then to level 4 48 hours later, Auckland YWCA hostel manager Kerry Barnett said she went to "action station".

She praised Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's approach of the levels, saying that she used the 48 hours to practice lockdown precautions and to work out the efficient and safest way to manage the common areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, study rooms and TV lounges.

The first thing she did was speak to her duty managers before they advised 35 international students expected to stay at their hostel to postpone their trip.

By 6pm on Monday night, she said she called a huge meeting which involved 161 residents, where she announced she would be treating the facility as if they were in alert level 4.

Auckland YWCA hostel Manager Kerry Barnett. Photo / Supplied

"It was brilliant that I did that as it enabled me to iron out any complications or any issues that I might have overseen before the [alert level 4 lockdown]," she said.

Within two days of the announcement, the hostel had a mass exodus of 29 residents who returned to their homes both overseas or in the country — leaving her to look after 140 residents.

From Monday 6pm, Barnett stopped all visitors from entering the hostel and put contact tracing in place.

"If any of my residents went out for a walk, if any essential workers were going to work, they had to sign in and sign out," she said.

"If they were essentials workers I had to know where they worked, who they worked with and why they were working there."

The old staff room converted into an overflow tea and coffee making facility. Photo / Supplied

Barnett said she put systems in place to ensure social distancing including limiting the number of people in shared spaces and marking the floor with crosses to advise residents where they can stand.

"Our kitchen can normally seat up to 20 people, so I had to remove chairs and tables with crosses in the area," she said.

"We only have three cooking areas within our kitchen so I could only really have six people in the kitchen at any one time."

She said she also thought about small things like avoiding elevators and encouraged residents to take the stairs if they can.

At reception, which is open 24/4 for safety and security, she uses tables as a guide for people not to get too close to one another.

An area in the hostel that has hand sanitiser, tissues and health guidelines signs. Photo / Supplied

She said that from Monday she doubled all the cleaning in the hostel and placed hand sanitiser everywhere in the building.

Barnett also turned its staff room into an overflow kitchen for residents.

Barnett said she moved in straight away to ensure the young residents felt safe.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

"I have lots of young people here from overseas and they are scared. They don't have family here, English is their second language," she said.

An example of social distancing outside with marked crosses. Photo / Supplied

Barnett also pointed out that keeping people connected and entertained during times like these was another important hurdle she had to cross.

She said she used tools and skills she learned from being a Youth Worker into use to keep young people involved with one another in a safe way.

Barnett managed to borrow equipment from an organisation that is closed and set up non-contact sports, games and activities throughout the hostel.

This included things like table tennis, cricket matches and frisbee throwing.

She also provided residents with puzzles, card games and an outdoor chess set.

Barnett also gave them a wellness wall outside for people to write on in chalk.

A wellness wall was set outside for residents to write on in chalk. Photo / Supplied

For the residents who didn't want to be active, she made a private Facebook group, "The Great YWCA Lockdown", for residents only.

On it, they share jokes, tips, memes, mental health tips and even recipes. They also hold online streaming games such as live quizzes and live bingo.

And for those who don't use Facebook, the hostel has kept its residents updated with a newsletter twice a week, with word searches and quizzes on the back.

Barnett explained that the lockdown has had its benefits, including creating a more connected community within the hostel that she has spent two years trying to create.

An example of the hostel's newsletter. Photo / Supplied

"What has incredibly happened, which is an absolute joy, is that there is such a sense of community here. All of a sudden I have residents that I barely saw come down talking to others and partaking in activities.

"For me, its been matter of 'how do I make everything accessible as I can for everybody'."

"We have been in lockdown 49 days now and I have to say the residents have handled it beautifully," she said.