A mother staying at a central Auckland managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facility is traumatised by what she describes as the anti-social and at times "violent" behaviour of another woman isolating in the hotel.
Police are aware of the situation and are "monitoring" the woman's behaviour, but the mother questions if the matter is being appropriately dealt with.
The mother, who Newshub has agreed not to name, has health conditions that cause hypertension, severe anxiety and sleeping problems, and feels the stress has negatively impacted her health.
She is in MIQ with her teenage daughter, who wouldn't leave their room for days, fearful of being confronted by the other guest.
"She sounds absolutely psychotic and her room is by the lift. When we get our 30 minutes of time to go outside, you have got to go past her room to get to the lift," she says.
Newshub has been provided audio of several of the incidents, with a woman heard screaming swear words and abusing another MIQ guest.
'She was just going ballistic'
The mother and her 18-year-old daughter arrived at the Grand Mercure MIQ facility in downtown Auckland on Saturday, having travelled to New Zealand from Brisbane. The mum says the pair are extremely grateful to get a spot in MIQ, as her 81-year-old father is unwell and her family needs support.
But it was only roughly 30 minutes after they arrived in their MIQ room, at the end of what was a "very long day", that they began to hear from someone isolating about six doors down from them.
"It sounded like she was having an exorcism. She was just going ballistic. She was screaming that she was in prison, people can't treat her this way. She was smashing her door," the mother tells Newshub.
Just before midnight on Saturday, the mother woke to "screaming and swearing" which she says was directed at a staff member. She says workers were leaving guests' luggage outside their rooms and knocking to let them know in case they were still up and wanted to get their bags.
"That must have triggered her. All I could hear was her just screaming… it sounded like an altercation," she says.
"I got up and went to go to the door. Some of the staff were still putting luggage away and I said 'what the hell was that', and the guys were just shaking their heads, 'like can you believe it?'"
The mother is unsure when the other woman arrived at the MIQ facility but believes from what she has been yelling - mostly demanding to be let out and frustration about being in quarantine - that it must have been only shortly before she and her daughter got there. They're still in the Grand Mercure, not yet at the end of their seven-day stay.
On Sunday morning, the mother says the woman began making loud noises again, so she rang the reception. She was told staff had had numerous calls about the woman and would send someone up, but the mother says nothing changed. A staff member also told her they were aware of CCTV footage of the incident the night before.
"They all know about it. How is this okay that she has done it to an employee and to us as well?
"The police come up. They talk to her nicely. She talks to them like an angel. She is quietly spoken. They leave her in that room and she does it again."
The mother says the issue escalated on Wednesday.
"She was doing her usual, absolutely going f***ing mental which she has done every single day we are here. One of the people next door to me had had enough and opened his door to say, 'can you please shut up'. She goes nuts at him."
The woman allegedly charged at the guest down the hallway and began banging on his door.
In one snippet of audio Newshub has heard of that moment, the woman can be initially heard screaming inaudible words. After the guest tells her to "shut up", the woman yells: "You shut up you f***ing pig". When the man says she should be considerate of others, she says, "I don't give a f***. I don't give a f***."
The incidents, which have happened every day bar Thursday, have caused a lot of stress for both the mother and the daughter.
"My health has been negatively impacted with the stress," she tells Newshub.
Her daughter wouldn't leave their hotel room for about three days due to concern about seeing the woman. On Thursday, the mother was able to force her daughter outside as she saw how much her mental health was deteriorating.
'No accountability'
After the Wednesday incident between the woman and the male guest, the mother again rang reception. She says an older man, who she believes was a nurse, came up to speak to the woman which concerned the mother given the woman's recent behaviour. The mother spoke to the nurse, who asked if she wanted the police involved.
"She is going off every day. It is f***ing traumatising. I said, 'what is happening, why aren't the police taking her away. Some people in here are coming back because their family members are dying or they have died. There are young families here. Why the hell is everyone putting up with her traumatic abuse'. It is totally traumatic listening to her."
An officer later came and spoke to the mother.
"I said, 'look I am so pissed. What is going on? This woman, since we arrived, has been terrorising everyone. She just physically charged at the guy next to me'," the mother tells Newshub.
"I said, 'so what is happening with her'. He said, 'oh as you know we are in quarantine'. That pissed me off. He goes, 'we have already spoken to her before'."
The mother says she told the officer the woman acted kind when confronted by staff.
"I said, 'I am not safe, my daughter is not safe. No one around here is safe with her charging around the hallway, being violent. I feel like she is being treated like a VIP. We are all in here stuck in our rooms with nowhere to go'."
She says the officer told her to call again if the woman acted up, despite guests having already done that before.
"The staff here at the Grand Mercure have been amazing, but there has been no accountability for what is going on."
She feels MIQ has no procedure in place to deal with this kind of situation.
"I am mandated by law to be in here. I am not allowed to leave… They are not keeping us safe and the cops, there were no follow-up calls. They do not care," she tells Newshub.
"Having to deal with those emotions of wanting to be with my family, wanting to be with my dad and having to deal with someone else's trauma, it is just very emotional as well."
MIQ and Police respond
Joint Head of MIQ Brigadier Rose King confirmed to Newshub in a statement that police were aware of the woman and her "poor behaviour".
"Police are aware of this situation and have been monitoring this person's behaviour throughout their stay and will remain on site until their scheduled departure date," Brigadier King says. "As in any situation requiring Police attention, the response is at the discretion of those officers attending."
"It is unfortunate that, as a result of this person's poor behaviour, some other returnees in the same facility have reported feeling uncomfortable. MIQ security staff work hard to ensure MIQ is safe for those who stay in our facilities, as well as all staff who work in MIQ facilities. MIQ, Police and healthcare staff continue to be committed to the safety and wellbeing of all on-site."
She says MIQ is "reflective of society", meaning there are people there "from all walks of life".
"All of the things that happen out in the world, happen in MIQ too – sometimes that means some poor behaviour, and that's taken very seriously. Police and onsite staff are well trained in the management of challenging behaviour and assess and apply the most appropriate responses."
Brigadier King says MIQ has "successfully accommodated" more than 190,000 returning New Zealanders and acknowledges that some who stay in MIQ facilities "find it more challenging than others so we wrap additional care and support around them".
"Everyone staying in our facilities receives a comprehensive health and wellbeing assessment, which is carried out by health professionals on site. They are able to raise concerns on any wellbeing issues they may have. They can also access mental health clinicians at the facility at any time during their stay, or reach out to specialist services included in their welcome pack.
"Those staying in our facilities are expected to act responsibly, behave appropriately and be considerate of other people and staff."
In a statement, a police spokesperson says police acknowledge staying in MIQ can be a "difficult period" and that staff apply a "graduated response in dealing with any matters that require Police to respond".
"While enforcement is an option that is available to Police as part of this, it may not necessarily be the most appropriate option in the circumstances.
"Police are one of many partner agencies that support the operation of a MIQF and there are a number of factors, including health risks and the environment, that are taken into consideration when dealing with a situation."
The spokesperson said any decisions around relocating people within the facility is for MBIE to make in consultation with all parties.
People coming into New Zealand must currently undergo seven days in a MIQ facility. The Government has said it is looking at home isolation for some fully vaccinated travellers, but that isn't expected to come into effect until at least the first quarter of next year.
