Covid case 'frustrated' at lack of support, unsure when she'll be taken to MIQ

A woman who tested positive for Covid-19 says she's still at home and is in the dark about when she'll be transferred to an MIQ facility.

"Frustrated is an understatement for how I'm feeling," says Shannon Mitchell.

The mother of two was tested on Friday after feeling sick and on Sunday was told she was Covid positive.

"They asked me for details of any other people in my household and said they'd arrange for someone to come to our home and test them, then they said that somebody else will contact me about going to MIQ and I would get daily phone calls for checkup and things."

But none of that happened.

Instead, Mitchell was sent an email telling her to have her kids tested at the nearest site. Those results came back negative just this morning after 1News questioned the Ministry of Health.

During the 1pm media conference Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said: "I understand there was a particular situation in Auckland where the communication perhaps wasn't as good as it should've been and there was some results in getting the test results back and I've asked the team to have a look into that."

Mitchell's case is being handled by the mid central DHB rather than in Auckland and she still has no idea when she'll be transferred to an MIQ facility.

"There has been some delays in getting transportation from home to quarantine facilities over the last couple of days because of the case numbers and so we're looking at how we can expedite that," said Bloomfield.

She says she gets confused with who she's supposed to be talking to.

"MIQ is different, daily health nurse is different, and I had spoken to Healthline the other day and they don't deal with this sort of stuff," she says.

There's also been no food support despite assurances there would be.

"My cat ran out of cat food and we've run out toilet paper I was at the point of just going to go and get it myself but i don't want other people to get sick because of me."

Mitchell wonders if others are in a similar situation.

"It makes me not surprised at how bad the cases are getting out in the community when this is how its being dealt with," she says.

"I feel absolutely let down I think the biggest thing for me is the fear for my daughter, she has compromised health and if she was to fall really ill, I did ask 'do I take her to the hospital' because I know at the moment they just really want us to stay home.

"It is concerning, the spread of Covid in the community, and having positive cases out here for such long periods of time where we're not getting support to stay in our homes that it'll just spread more and get worse."

It comes as Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said on Thursday home isolation "was always part of the plan" and was being worked on by officials for future use.

"Where we've got asymptomatic people in a vaccinated environment, we have always intended that people would be recovering at home.

"We're now working through the process of what that looks like and how to manage that."