Quarantine facilities recruited as community cases grow

August 26, 2021
Erin Conway had spent a fortnight at the Novotel Ibis Ellerslie as part of quarantine, before her details were used for marketing purposes.

Auckland will soon get its second quarantine facility alongside the Jet Park hotel as the country continues to grapple with the current Covid-19 outbreak. 

The Ibis Hotel in Greenlane, near the Ellerslie Racecourse, is set to become the new facility, helping house additional cases as the original location nears capacity. 

As of midday Friday, all 243 rooms at the hotel will be available for the next positive Covid-19 cases. 

Officials told 1 NEWS they have been exploring options to increase the MIQ capacity for those infected with the virus, both in Auckland as well as elsewhere around New Zealand. 

"One of the key areas of focus for MIQ since the latest outbreak began was on how to best configure our facilities in order to meet demand from international returnees, community cases and close contacts," Joint Head of MIQ, Brigadier Rose King said.

Part of the changes included shifting the Grand Mercure in Wellington to becoming an exclusively quarantine-only facility. 

While the Bay Plaza Wellington will be used solely for community cases needing to isolate. 

There's also work underway to make the Holiday Inn at Auckland Airport a dual purpose facility, able to make 68 of its 247 beds available for quarantine purposes if needed, King added.  

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