Whangārei mum's house becomes Covid-19 isolation zone

Andrea Rogers all packed up and ready to move to a relative's house to allow her son and a boarder to self-isolate. Photo / John Stone

A Whangārei mother is willingly moving out of her house so that her son and a boarder returning from overseas can be in self isolation for Covid-19.

Andrea Rogers of Kamo will this morning move to a relative's house at Whau Valley for 14 days to reduce the risk to herself and her family and says there must be other Northlanders in the same situation.

Her boarder, a Jordanian who works as a barber in Kamo, cut short his holiday to Jordan by two weeks and is due to land in Auckland at 4am today before driving back to Whangārei.

"He is to self-isolate obviously. I am not comfortable being in the same house as I have had previous medical conditions. I am willingly moving out to family to reduce the risk for myself and my family," Rogers said.

Her son, who works in hotel maintenance in Canada, is making arrangements to return home as Rogers said visitor visa holders were being asked to return home. He too will need to be in self-isolation for 14 days upon his return.

Rogers said he may have to stay elsewhere if her home was deemed unsuitable because her boarder would already be under the same roof.

There have been four confirmed cases in Whistler, British Columbia where her son is living.

She rang the Ministry of Health helpline to seek advice on what to do in that situation but hung up after being on hold for an hour.

"I emailed the Ministry of Health and asked about if there was any assistance for people that have returned to NZ and have no where to go to for self-isolation. The response I got was, please refer to our website for information.

"My boarder is here on a work visa, he has no family or friends in Whangārei, there must be other people in this situation, it would be interesting to see what the plan is around this, if there is a plan," Rogers said.

A ministry spokeswoman said healthline faced huge pressure from calls with more than 4500 calls on Monday, which was more than four times the number received on the same day last year.

She said people who wanted information on Covid-19 but did not need clinical advice should first access the ministry website and they shouldn't call healthline for advice on travel or attending events.

There is a dedicated government helpline 0800 779 997 for such advice.

Another Whangārei resident, Lawry Baigent, flew into Auckland on Monday from India via Malaysia and is in self-isolation.

Lawry Baigent was asked by Air New Zealand staff to wear a mask on his flight to Whangārei. Photo / Supplied

He declared his international travel and was allowed to board his flight to Whangārei after a slight delay.

"I was asked to wear a mask for the flight right through until leaving terminal. Coming into New Zealand, there was no health screening I was just asked a few questions," he said.