Scott Simpson Opinion: Sloppiness over quarantined arrivals

National party MPs 2019 Scott Simpson Picture supplied FREE FOR EDITORIAL USE NZH 29Aug19 - BTG 05Sep19 - BTG 31Oct19 - BTG 13Feb20 - BTG 27Feb20 - BTG 23Apr20

There is an air of general sloppiness around rules and processes concerning people arriving in New Zealand from overseas.

To say it's been a shambolic mess is not an overstatement.

As a nation we collectively made many sacrifices during the Covid lockdown. It's no wonder people are angry and frustrated. Jobs have been lost, businesses shut down and lives completely changed. I'm not sure members of Jacinda Ardern's Government realise just how angry ordinary Kiwis are right now.

We've all heard about the people that were released early from quarantine facilities and we've all heard about those that chose to flout the rules. These cases are just plain unacceptable.

The Ministry of Health's guidelines say that compassionate leave to exit managed isolation can only be given after seven days and a negative test. The fact that people can fly into this country and be let out of quarantine after a few days without being tested is just simply irresponsible.

Frankly it raises questions as to whether Jacinda Ardern's Government can follow its own Covid-19 rules.

Most New Zealanders agree that we can expect the occasional case of Covid-19 to pop up as we recover from the past few months, but we need to be positive that our Government has the appropriate protocols in place to identify and trace those cases so they don't become a bigger cluster.

We need to be sure the protocols are being followed closely by those entrusted with the care of people in quarantine and we need to be sure this horrible virus does not take hold in our communities again.

Let's hope that Jacinda Ardern's Government can learn from its very dangerous mistakes and get it right for the sake of people all over the country that gave up so much.