Earlier today, Minister Megan Woods announced early feasibility work was underway to investigate the use of hotels within Dunedin and Queenstown for managed isolation and quarantine facilities.

Please find Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Jim Boult’s response below:

“I am very supportive of the need to find sufficient capacity for quarantine, and recognise that this may require looking at alternative locations. It is important in the hard-won fight against COVID-19 that we don’t put our communities at risk and can maintain strong border controls that minimise any risk of community transmission,” Mayor Boult said.

“However, the Queenstown Lakes District has extremely limited health care capacity in the event that there should be a localised outbreak beyond any quarantine facility, and this should be a significant concern. This real concern is something that should be taken into consideration before any final decision is made and I would recommend discussions should be had with both this Council and the Southern District Health Board to further inform that decision.”

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