Managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) was a quarantine system implemented by the New Zealand Government during the country's COVID-19 pandemic. Under the system, people entering New Zealand, COVID-19 positive cases and some of their close contacts were required to isolate at an MIQ facility for 14 days. Compulsory managed isolation and quarantine was announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the 1pm press conference on 9 April 2020, with the system coming into effect for people boarding flights to New Zealand from midnight that day. The government contracted dozens of hotels in five cities that were exclusively used as managed isolation facilities. The task was organised by the Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) unit, part of the COVID-19 All-of-Government Response Group.
On 10 March 2022, the New Zealand Government announced plans to phase out the MIQ system as part of plans to reopen the country's borders. Most of the MIQ facilities would revert to being hotels. However, four facilities would be retained for those needing to quarantine. By March 2022, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins estimated that the MIQ system had accommodated 230,000 people returning to New Zealand and 4,400 people who had contracted COVID-19 in the community.
Background
On 28 February 2020, New Zealand confirmed its first case of COVID-19. At the daily 1 pm press conference on 14 March, Ardern announced that people entering New Zealand must go into a fortnight's self-isolation beginning on 16 March; people coming from Pacific Island nations were initially exempt from these restrictions. By mid-March, the government was urging New Zealanders to return home urgently.
History 2020 At the daily 1 pm press conference on 9 April 2020, Ardern announced that those boarding flights after midnight that day would have to go into managed isolation provided by the government. She explained that government had been considering this measure for some time, but there simply was not the capacity to introduce these measures any earlier as almost 40,000 New Zealanders had returned since 20 March, a number larger than all the country's hotel rooms. Part of the announcement was that the government would use up to 18 hotels, but this was soon increased to 26 by early July and 32 by early August.
Three representatives of the Defence Force, Corrections, and Police undertook a review of the managed isolation system at the end of June. They found that little pre-planning had been done, with a Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) unit created as part of the COVID-19 All-of-Government Response Group on 20 March, without a lead agency assigned to have ultimate responsibility. For example, agencies involved prescribed different policies for personal protective gear for their staff. There was little government oversight of arriving passengers when they transferred through the arrival halls, with a risk of travellers meeting their family or even absconding. Some travellers found out that there is mandatory quarantine in New Zealand after they had cleared customs. There was initially little coordination with airlines, with passenger manifests provided only hours before planes arrived in New Zealand; this sometimes put strains on logistics, with last-minute decisions which hotel passengers would be sent to. The compulsory second test did sometimes not arrive in a timely manner, which meant that rooms did not become available, hindering planning for accommodating new guests.
In mid-June, Air Commodore Darryn Webb and Housing Minister Megan Woods were given joint responsibility for overseeing isolation and quarantine facilities. Woods and Webb announced a number of operational changes two days after the review was received.
On 14 July 2020, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) assumed responsibility for running the country's Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) system.
From 5 October, anyone entering New Zealand was required to book a place at a MIQ facility using the Government's online Managed Isolation Allocation System. On the day of its launch, Stuff reported that the Managed Isolation Allocation System's website had collapsed with numerous people reporting trouble making bookings. From 12 am on 5 November, anyone entering New Zealand was legally required to show a voucher proving that they had secured a place in an MIQ facility before flying.
On 12 November, it was reported that MIQ guests at the Grand Millennium hotel in Auckland Central had mingled with residents of Vincent Residences after a fire alarm at the hotel earlier in the week. Following reports of a community transmission at Vincent Residences, Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay said the alarm was not the likely cause of the community transmission because the case was already asymptomatic at the time. In addition, Air Commodore Darryn Webb disputed reports that MIQ guests had mingled with Vincent Residences.
2021 On 28 January 2021, the Pullman Hotel in Central Auckland was identified as the centre of an outbreak that had seen four people test positive for a South African strain. In response, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced that the managed isolation facility would not be accepting new returnees and that remaining residents would have their stays extended. The Minister also confirmed that health authorities were investigating the causes of this new outbreak. On 29 January, a mother whose two daughters had stayed at the Pullman Hotel criticised lapses in protocols and safety including returnees mingling and playing contact sports, which she blamed for causing one of her daughters to contract COVID-19.
On 2 March 2021, the Government confirmed that it would be raising managed isolation booking fees for temporary visa holders by more than NZ$2,000 from 25 March. This price hike was criticised by the Migrant Workers Association's spokesperson Anu Kaloti and migrants residing in New Zealand with relatives overseas.
On 22 March, Radio New Zealand and The New Zealand Herald reported that the Managed Isolation and Quarantine system was receiving an average of 100 complaints a week due to lengthy wait-times; with people having to reserve rooms at least 16 weeks in advance. This led MIQ to consider a wait-list for peak times to manage the demand for places in MIQ.
On 23 March, the New Zealand Government announced that it had raised the time needed for New Zealand permanent residents and citizens to stay in New Zealand without incurring MIQ fees from 90 days to 180 days. In addition, the Government raised the accommodation fees for temporary visa holders (including partners, spouses, legal guardians and children of returning New Zealanders) and migrant health workers; with $950 for an additional adult in a room and $475 for a child aged 3–17 for those travelling together. If travelling separately, the temporary entry class visa holder would be charged the higher fees of $5520 for the first or only person in a room, $2990 for an additional adult, and $1610 for an additional child.
On 1 April, the Government confirmed that it would loosen rules for securing emergency spots in managed isolation; with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) stating that 100 more places in MIQ would be available each fortnight. This policy shift affected New Zealand citizens and residents applying to enter the country to see relatives with terminal illnesses and less than six months to live; citizens and residents who had travelled overseas to visit terminally ill relatives; citizens and residents of Pacific Islands countries requiring time-critical medical treatment in New Zealand that they couldn't receive at home; and those facing risks to their health and safety overseas.
According to statistics released by the Health Ministry in early April 2021, there had been 117 imported cases from India in managed isolation since the start of February, compared with 17 from the United States and 11 from the United Kingdom. In response to this and the rising number of cases in India, the New Zealand Government announced that it would close the border to travellers from India between 4pm on 11 April (Sunday) and 28 April. This temporary travel ban would also affect New Zealand citizens and residents travelling from India.
On 13 April, it was reported that nearly all security guards at MIQ facilities were recruited from private security firms despite the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) deciding to employ its own security force following a privacy breach in August 2020. Following a recruitment drive by MBIE, it was reported that nearly 400 people had applied for 156 security officer vacancies at MIQ facilities. MBIE had also recruited 31 of 32 operations and security managers.
On 10 May, the Government announced that 500 spaces a fortnight would be allocated over the next ten months for skilled and critical workers. This would include 300 workers under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, with 2,400 expected to arrive by March 2022. Prior to that, ten percent of managed isolation places had been allocated to skilled and critical workers. Prime Minister Ardern confirmed that these spaces would include construction workers for the Auckland City Rail Link and Wellington's Transmission Gully Motorway. In addition, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the travel bubble with Australia would allow more places in managed isolation to be allocated to skilled and critical workers.
The joint leadership roles of MIQ changed in June when New Zealand Army Brigadier Rose King replaced Brigadier Jim Bliss at the conclusion of his secondment to MBIE. She joined Megan Main as Joint Head of MIQ.
Following the New Zealand Government's suspension of the travel bubble with Australia at 11:59 pm on 23 July, the Government also confirmed that New Zealanders returning home from Australia except New South Wales before 11:59 pm on 30 July would not have to go into managed isolation. Those returning from Australia after 30 July would have to go into managed isolation.
On 2 August, Prime Minister Ardern announced that seasonal workers from Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu would be allowed to enter the country without having to undergo managed isolation from September 2021 onwards. This was to address the labour shortage in the agricultural and horticultural sector. Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu had reported low transmissions of COVID-19.
On 22 August, the Government began voluntary home isolation of suspected and verified community cases with available quarantine capacity used primarily to house healthy and COVID-19 free returnees.
On 25 August, Radio New Zealand reported that the number of MIQ rooms available to returning New Zealanders had declined due to a cohorting system that was introduced in April and May 2021 to minimise the risk of users spreading COVID-19 to later users. Between 350 and 500 MIQ rooms each fortnight were set aside for large groups such as sports teams, seasonal and construction workers, and refugees. Other factors affecting the availability of rooms including maintenance, an increase in the number of emergency allocation rooms from 250 to 350, and people not turning up for MIQ bookings.
On 1 September, COVID-19 Response Minister Hipkins confirmed that the Government had extended a pause on MIQ bookings to accommodate community cases from the Auckland August 2021 Delta outbreak. Hipkins also advised New Zealand expatriates abroad to cancel their holiday plans to return to New Zealand due to pressure on the MIQ system. On 2 September, the opposition National Party proposed five changes to the MIQ system including banning bots and third party providers, creating a new points system to allocate space, the introduction of a waiting list, transparency over room release dates, and the establishment of a Kiwi Expat Advisory Group.