Robyn Malcom has celebrated news of Aotearoa's borders slowly reopening with an Instagram post praising Jacinda Ardern's Government for the way the COVID-19 has been handled thus far.
The Outrageous Fortune star thanked the Prime Minister for "saving so, so many lives", although she admitted the MIQ system and border restrictions had been "rough and horrible and painful for so many people".
"But it worked," she added. "We've lost 53 people. That's 53 too many, but compared to the rest of the world it's a miracle."
Malcolm said that saving the life of a loved one and stopping a loved one's suffering "was and is the most important thing".
"I loudly applaud this Government. They've not been perfect, OF COURSE, but they kept us safe and pretty darn free in the end."
The Kiwi actor went through managed isolation at a Wellington hotel in June last year, telling RNZ she felt like was put in the "naughty corner" by MIQ officials who were unhappy to see Malcolm had posted a photo of a lit scented candle and two bottles of wine on social media.
Malcolm took issue with the way she was treated in MIQ after she headed to America to work after earning nothing in New Zealand in 2020.
"We're locked in rooms, teeny tiny rooms... and we're not allowed to walk out that door, and the impact of that is huge," she said.
"One of the major issues is the lack of consistency across facilities. People say: 'Oh well, you know we didn't have long to put it together' ... you've had a year-and-a-half," she told Checkpoint last year.
"Consistency around exercise for instance. That's wildly different from place to place. Some people get to go outside and walk all day. Other people get half-an-hour every three days, depending on the facility you're in.
"Food... is a huge one. The food I'm given here is predominantly white or pale yellow in colour."
The Shortland Street alumni said she was writing a letter to MIQ officials at the time about ways of improving and streamlining the process.
She said she would want to be able to "contribute willingly and happily" should she have to enter managed isolation again - although it seems as though that soon won't be a problem.
