Frustration for New Zealand returnees as Covid quarantine waiting list hits 30,000
Demand for MIQ spaces is vastly outstripping supply, with spots snapped up in just two hours
Overseas New Zealanders trying to return home are facing a queue tens of thousands of people long, as the country reopens bookings to cross the border.
The country’s borders have been strictly controlled since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic – only citizens, permanent residents and a handful of essential workers can enter, and all of them must make a booking to spend two weeks in government-controlled quarantine (MIQ).