Covid 19 coronavirus: Chafing under the rules – 76 bubble breaches in four months

People in MIQ are meant to adhere to strict bubble rules, even when they are taking part in daily exercise or smoking breaks. Photo / Alex Burton

Guests, staff and security have been breaching the rules in managed isolation and quarantine facilities about once every 36 hours.

While most of the incidents are considered minor in nature, each breach poses an unnecessary risk of the virus spreading.

There have been 76 incidents of rule-breaking – such as unauthorised mixing and mingling or failing to wear PPE – in 27 of the 32 MIQ facilities across the country since the start of August, according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

None involve the kind of staff-guest hook-ups that are thought to have sparked the Melbourne outbreak earlier this year that led to almost four months of harsh lockdown.

“Most bubble breaches are minor in nature, such as children from different family bubbles playing in a corridor, or a staff member moving into a space where a guest had been shortly before, such as a lift, not wearing a mask,” an MIQ spokesperson said in a statement.

Two breaches were in quarantine facilities and 11 were in facilities that had a quarantine wing as well as an isolation wing.

Most of the incidents, 56, involved guests, but nine involved workers and three were by security guards.

It is unclear whether any resulted in a penalty, but the MIQ spokesperson said they were mainly met with an education approach and/or a warning.

The figure is set to climb higher with the latest breaches involving the Pakistan cricket team, which are not part of the tally as they are still being officially investigated.

Six players have tested positive despite testing negative before departing Pakistan. CCTV footage shows them leaving their rooms without masks, mingling and chatting in hallways, and passing items to each other.

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And this week there have been further unconfirmed reports of unauthorised mixing in mingling.

“Friend of mine in quarantine in Auckland (who has just done his day 12 test) says they’re able to freely mingle with the new arrivals… does that seem weird to anyone?” tweeted journalist Damien Christie on Thursday.

Friend of mine in quarantine in Auckland (who has just done his day 12 test) says they’re able to freely mingle with the new arrivals… does that seem weird to anyone?

— Damian Christie (@damianchristie) November 26, 2020

Overseas arrivals in MIQ are meant to be kept in separate cohorts to avoid mixing and mingling, which could see Covid-19 passed to a group who have already had a negative day-12 test and are on the verge of re-entering the community.

Six members of the Pakistan Cricket team, seen here arriving in Christchurch this week, have tested positive for Covid-19. Photo / Supplied

Otago University Professor and specialist public health physician Philip Hill was unsurprised by the number of breaches, saying it was a sign of normal human behaviour and the sheer volume of MIQ traffic – up to 7000 people every fortnight.

“You’d expect, given the sheer volume of people coming through MIQ, that there would be some unauthorised mingling in MIQ.”

He added that the official number of MIQ breaches does not include any that elude the watchful eyes of staff or CCTV coverage.

MBIE did not reveal how many MIQ facilities have no CCTV coverage, citing security reasons.

“Most have some form of CCTV coverage but none has 100 per cent coverage of every space such as corridors in the property,” the spokesperson said.

“The major focus of having the cameras is securing the perimeter of each facility, and coverage of communal areas. More CCTV technology is being placed in the MIQs progressively around the country, but there is no plan for coverage of every single part of each facility 24/7, and there will be areas in each where cameras will not be filming.

“We do not rely exclusively on CCTV images alone, as on-site staff are observing constantly in the facilities.”

The latest breaches by Pakistani players follow similar behaviour from the West Indies cricket team – caught on CCTV sharing food and socialising in MIQ hallways – earlier this month.

It has prompted public health experts to call for stricter rules for visitors from Covid-19 hotspots.

There have been 76 MIQ bubble breaches since the end of August – in 27 of the country’s 32 MIQ facilities. Photo / Andrew Warner

“This is in addition to the eight border control failures we’ve had since [the end of July], so we really need a major re-look at the system,” Otago University Professor Nick Wilson told RNZ.

“It’s a system design problem. We shouldn’t be relying on people being good.”

He and public health colleagues at Otago University – in a blogpost called “Time to stop dodging bullets?” – have been pushing for a risk-based “traffic light” border system to reduce the number of infected arrivals.

The proposal includes pre-departure quarantine and testing for those coming from high-risk countries, which wouldn’t stop Covid from coming into the country, but would add another protection layer.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has said imposing pre-departure rules for returning Kiwis may affect their right to come home.

He has described New Zealand’s MIQ system as is strong as it’s ever been, and it already included multiple layers of defence including daily health checks, a 24/7 police presence, and the gold standard of 14 days in MIQ with testing on around day three and day 12.