Covid-19: Military MIQ personnel in 'unpopular and challenging' lockdown after cases

Tuesday, 22 February 2022

Returning New Zealanders are able to form a bubble with family during their isolation.

Auckland military personnel working in managed isolation facilities are confined to their quarters except for work and exercise after positive cases in their ranks.

A leaked memo has revealed a top Air Force officer conceding that the lockdown, which began on Tuesday at noon, will be “unpopular and challenging” but is required to maintain the MIQ system.

Positive cases are causing pressure on an already stretched Defence Force staff in the weeks before the managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) system begins to wind down.

The memo written by Air Force Group Captain Glenn Gowthorpe, who is the commander of the Defence Force’s Covid response, has been obtained by Stuff. It said in the past week military MIQ staff had caught Covid in the community, while others are close contacts.

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Auckland residents are being urged to remain vigilant for Covid-19 symptoms after people who completed hotel quarantine at the Pullman Hotel MIQ tested positive for the coronavirus.

Late last week, two Air Force personnel working in MIQ returned positive rapid antigen tests (RAT) and are isolating, a Defence spokesman said.

Gowthorpe, in his message to troops working security at MIQs, said they would be subject to new movement restrictions.

“To limit our exposure to the community outbreak and to preserve our workforce, short term force health protection (FHP) restrictions need to be placed on the Auckland Security Group (ASG).

“I acknowledge that these FHP restrictions will be unpopular and challenging, however, they are only in place for a short period and are aimed at ensuring that we meet the mission requirements and man the manageable shift roster currently in place.

A soldier manning the fence of a managed isolation facility in Christchurch (file photo).

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“If we elected a ‘do nothing’ approach, our ASG workforce would quickly come under pressure through rising positive case numbers and associated close contact classifications.”

His message offered a glimmer of hope to troops tired of mundane MIQ duties.

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel however, as once the pressure starts coming off of the MIQ system through the border reopening with Australia in a week’s time, and to the rest of the world in three weeks’ time, so too, the pressure on the numbers of ASG required on shift in the facilities will likely begin to reduce.

“I will ask a lot of you over the coming week, but that ask is well-founded and linked to a potential reduction in the demand for our support in the coming months.”

A separate written order to staff in central Auckland accommodation for military MIQ personnel said security staff will only be permitted to leave their accommodation for work or “restricted outdoor PT sessions”.

A Defence spokesman said personnel who had received a positive rapid antigen test are isolating while they await PCR results.

“All NZDF Op PROTECT staff who are currently quarantining or isolating have been accounted for.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled Air Force Group Captain Glenn Gowthorpe’s surname as Gowthrope. (Amended at 10.45am on February 23, 2022)