Woman with bleeding condition detained in Rotorua managed isolation

Covid-19 swab. Photo / Getty Images

By RNZ

A woman who could suffer extreme bleeding from a Covid-19 nasal swab is being detained in managed isolation in Rotorua for longer because she did not have a day 12 test.

Karolina Jordan has a medical certificate which says she could haemorrhage if she has a nasal swab, but officials are refusing her requests to have a throat swab instead.

Her husband Warwick Jordan said she had been due to leave managed isolation today, but declined a nose test on the mandatory testing day, day 12.

That night a solider and a police officer turned up to tell her she was in breach of the rules, and would be detained for a further eight days, he said.

It was not fair they were still pressuring her to take the nasal test, Warwick said.

"As long as she takes a harmful, potentially dangerous test - for her - then she can be released. To my mind it's a form of torture. It's certainly unethical," he said.

Karolina's condition had not been assessed by the medical officer of health who was responsible for the decision, nor by any doctor at the hotel, he said.

The only medical contact she had each day was with a nurse who turned up each day to take her temperature and offer her a test.

She supported stringent border restrictions and testing, but was asking for the throat option, he said.

The area's public health unit Toi Te Ora is responsible for the decision, and said it was made clear to everyone in managed isolation that they would have to stay longer than 14 days if they did not have the required Covid test.

The medical officer of health Phil Shoemack said the throat test was not as accurate, and could return a false negative, so Karolina must stay 22 days instead of 14.

But government documents given to guests said throat tests were an option when a nasal swab could genuinely not be done.

Warwick said if that was not the case in practice, then the communication needed to be updated so people knew where they stood.

Then people who could not tolerate the nasal test would not be bothered every day, and made to feel like they were doing something wrong, he said.