Businesses vying to take part in the Government's self-isolation pilot are hoping it'll become the new normal as they struggle to operate internationally.
The pilot opened for applications on Thursday at 9am. Serviceworks managing director Mark Thomas got his application in straight away after trying for a year to secure a return MIQ spot. He says after failing to get a voucher through the MIQ lobby, the pilot is his only hope.
“I feel like I've been trapped in an escape room the last couple of weeks. I was 22,000 in the queue two weeks ago, 24,000 this week. This is my third attempt with the isolation pilot to see if there's a room I can escape from.”
Thomas is wanting to expand his business in Asia, and says he’s done all he can on Zoom.
“One of the markets we're looking to operate in…we need to get in and actually physically show how that product’s going to work. There's only so much you can do virtually…you get to a point, particularly in some of the Asian markets, where meeting people face-to-face is essential.
The trial will allow 150 participants who are making short business trips to self-isolate in private accommodation for two weeks. They must live no more than 50 kilometres from Auckland or Christchurch airports and have been fully vaccinated in New Zealand. Those travelling to countries deemed a high Covid risk like India, Brazil and Indonesia won’t be able to participate.
AFT Pharmaceuticals director Hartley Atkinson says the company’s not planning to apply for the pilot. He says the restrictions are “severe” for those who have been double vaccinated and are travelling to and from territories where vaccination rates are high.
“You may or may not be able to have access to a property to do isolation if you don't live within that region…not everyone will have a suitable property either so there are quite a lot of practical challenges.”
He’s hoping self-isolation will become the new normal for business travellers by the time his staff need to travel early next year.
“We have a multinational clinical study in some 16 sites around the world ranging from the US to Europe and to close that study down we need to physically have someone actually do that, and they're based here.”
“The current lobby system is not really working for a lot of New Zealanders including business, unless we have some changes there are going to be some major problems.”
Meanwhile some individuals are frustrated there’s no self-isolation pilot for personal travel. Aucklander Mike Moore and his wife have been trying for months to travel to the UK to support his family after his brother took his own life. If it wasn’t for the limitation to businesspeople he’d fit all of the criteria for the pilot.
“We’re double vaccinated, we’d be traveling together, returning together. We’re the only people who live in our own house which is not connected to anybody else.”
“I see no reason why this should just be restricted to business people…for me it invalidates the purposes of the trial. If you only try something out with a very small segment of those who actually want to travel without MIQ, then what have you really tested?”
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says the Government is looking at self-isolation for personal travel in the future.
“There is unlikely to be a significant increase in movement at the border until early next year but there may be some movement at the margins around self-isolation, and around anything we can do to increase the overall capacity of people we can bring into the country.”
The pilot will also include a small number of government ministers and officials attending overseas events but the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says the number of places they’ll take up hasn’t been finalised.
Joint Head of MIQ Brigadier Rose King says a duty will be imposed on employers to ensure their employees comply with self-isolation requirements.
“Participants who breach the conditions of the pilot will be required to enter MIQ and pay MIQ fees. They may also be liable for a criminal offence that carries a penalty of up to $4,000 or up to six months imprisonment,” she said.
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