21 June 2020

Media: NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)

Topic: Rotorua hotels being used for managed isolation

Enquiry

Working on a story about passengers flying in from overseas and now being sent to Rotorua. I have some questions below I'm hoping to get a comment back by 2pm?

-When was council first told about the plans to quarantine passengers in Rotorua?

-Was there a formal process of decision making between stakeholders, including council, that led to people being quarantined here?

-What will the benefit be to Rotorua of having these individuals here?

-When did you plan to tell Rotorua?

-Should Rotorua have been warned?

-Should local residents be concerned?

Response

For info, to assist with reporter's understanding, we provided the following in advance of response from mayor:

We presume you have contacted the Defence Force and/or Minister Megan Woods' office for details? They are the agency and minister overseeing the managed isolation of returning New Zealanders and for your understanding, council was not involved in any decision-making regarding people coming here. You will need to go to the Defence Force and/or Minister Woods' office re how they make their decisions and who is involved in that.

One of your questions (When did you plan to tell Rotorua?) suggests that it would be the role of the mayor/RLC to inform Rotorua but as you'll see from info above, this is not a council operation and was not a council decision or a decision that involved council in any way so any 'announcement' would not have come from RLC or the mayor.

From Mayor Steve Chadwick:

Given the re-emergence of COVID-19 cases in New Zealand this past week, locals will understandably have some concerns about this.

On Rotorua's behalf, I have asked for assurances regarding the protocols that will be in place and have been assured the operation will be watertight.

We now have to trust that will be the case, and that all the right steps and precautions will be taken to keep our community safe.

We have no choice in this but Rotorua is not the only centre being used for managed isolation, and we need to remember these are New Zealanders returning home. I'm confident local health authorities are well placed and prepared to provide the right support and there should be no concerns if things are well run and managed.

Council was not part of the decision to bring people to Rotorua for managed isolation, but I appreciated being notified, and understand that local police and iwi were also notified.

We've been called on to play our part and we hope that will be balanced with the need for Rotorua, as a tourist destination, to be open for visitors, particularly with the July school holidays coming up.

I was notified on Friday [19 June] by the Defence Force about the decision to use currently closed Rotorua hotels for managed isolation of people arriving in New Zealand. I was informed on Saturday that they were bringing people in that night.