6. Question No. 6—COVID-19 ResponseCHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister for COVID-19 ResponseQuestion No. 6—COVID-19 Response6. CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: How many COVID-positive people are awaiting transfer to quarantine facilities if any and is he satisfied that the Government's MIQ facilities were appropriately prepared for the Delta variant arriving in New Zealand?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response): In answer to the first part of the question I am advised by managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) that they are collecting all cases within 24 hours of them being referred to them by Auckland Regional Public Health Service and transferring them to MIQ. As at 1 p.m. today there are 78 people who have tested positive in the community who are not yet in quarantine. That is in the context of 736 cases overall. Some of those cases will have only been recent bearing in mind that there were 49 cases that have just been reported this morning that have come in in the last 24 hours. In answer to the second part of the question yes overall I am satisfied with our MIQ facilities and the preparations that they have put in place to deal with new variants of the virus. Regular infection and prevention and control audits are done of all of our facilities which does take into account the most recent scientific information that we know about the virus. Chris Bishop: Thank you for the answer. Does he have any knowledge as to the maximum length of time that any one person has waited to be transferred to a quarantine facility after testing COVID positive and if so what is it?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I don't have that historical information although when I say historical"—beyond the last 24 hours or so. I am now confident based on the advice that I've got that any backlog has been cleared and that they are now picking people up within 24 hours. When the surge in the case numbers first started coming through it is fair to say that there was a backlog and some people were waiting between referral and being picked up. Not all of that though was sitting with MIQ. A lot of that was sitting with Auckland Regional Public Health Service in the sense that they weren't necessarily referring cases to MIQ and giving them the information to go and collect people in as timely a manner as we would like them to. I understand that that blockage has now been resolved and that they are now—once the case investigation part the interview part is complete—referring those cases to MIQ and MIQ are collecting them within 24 hours.Chris Bishop: How can it possibly be the case that no issues were raised in infection control audits about both the public walkway next to the exercise area and the public atrium at the Crowne Plaza and if both those issues pass muster why have both situations been ameliorated as a matter of urgency in recent days?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: In terms of the walkway beside the Crowne Plaza it's important to note that there is a high solid wall between the area where people could have been exercising and anyone walking through the walkway. If we were to determine that a solid wall is insufficient protection that would mean almost all of our MIQ facilities would have to stop being used. The issue is whether there was potential for airflow between the exercise area and the walkway and the overall conclusion of previous infection and prevention and control audits was that there wasn't. In terms of the atrium where the perspex screen did not go all the way to the ceiling that was not picked up by previous infection and prevention and control audits. It is something that they'll look closely at as to whether or not it should have been picked up. It has now been remediated.Chris Bishop: Why are COVID-positive people allowed to exercise in the underground car park at the Grand Mercure in Wellington when the Prime Minister just told the 1 p.m. press conference that COVID-positive people were confined to their rooms?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The overall issue of exercise of people in MIQ is a topic of conversation with the Ombudsman who has some very strong views on this particular case including Mandela rights which suggest that people in incarceration should still be able to get outside at least once a day to see the sky. In terms of the Grand Mercure facility in Wellington people who are in that facility can exercise in effectively an enclosed car park—although the sides of the car park are open but they are well distanced from anybody else. The Grand Mercure in Wellington is used as a combined quarantine and isolation facility. Those who are in quarantine have much more stringent requirements around them than those who are in isolation.Chris Bishop: How many rooms at the Novotel in Ellerslie the Ibis in Auckland and the Holiday Inn Auckland have air filtration systems installed in the rooms?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I don't have that particular number to hand."