A professional cleaner is "extremely concerned" by the cleaning standards at New Zealand's managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities after discovering black mould and thick layers of dust in her room.
Master Cleaners Training Institute CEO Liezl Foxcroft was taken to the Novotel Ellerslie after arriving back in New Zealand following a visit to her terminally ill parents in South Africa, but says she was left "traumatised" by the state she found her room in.
Foxcroft's MIQ stay was in June, but she has chosen to speak out about it now after reading of another woman's experience at an MIQ facility, the Sudima Auckland Airport, last week.
This woman had discovered what she suspects was dried urine and hair in her bathroom, and was later apologised to and moved to a different room following a complaint.
But the Head of MIQ is standing by its hygiene standards, telling Newshub the cleaning and sanitising protocols adhered to when rooms are prepared for new arrivals are "robust".
A COVID-19 expert says there is little evidence to suggest poor cleaning markedly increases the risk of a departing returnee passing on the virus to a new arrival staying in the same room.
However another says the virus has the ability to survive for days in spaces with few or no windows, and believes some facilities' cleaning processes may need to be reviewed.
'It was disgusting'
Foxcroft alleges when she arrived in her room on June 15, there were thick layers of dust, black mould around the shower fittings, and no cleaning materials nor a toilet brush provided.
Used glasses and coffee cups could only be washed in the bathroom, with no dish towel or washing-up liquid provided, and the MIQ welcome pack she received contained few references to cleaning.
She says the conditions were not good enough for an MIQ facility.
"The dust bunnies were jumping out to meet me - I noticed on the headboard, they're jumping up behind there - and I started looking around," she told Newshub.
"On top of everything, on top of the picture frames - wherever there was a ridge or surface - the dust was so thick. I actually took photos and sent them to our Tauranga office and they sent me a cleaning care pack, so I spent the next week cleaning [the room]."
Foxcroft later asked for a toilet brush and cleaning products from Novotel staff, which she received - but again she was left disappointed.
"The [toilet brush] I got was used - I don't even want to mention what it had on it… it was disgusting," she said.
"I asked for some cleaning chemicals and I got a general all-purpose cleaner, which is not even a toilet cleaner. [It contains] no hypochlorite, which… the Ministry of Health says you should use.
"And I'm thinking to myself, 'well, I hope this room was clean before I got here - because if it wasn't, then I'm in serious trouble of catching COVID just from being here', because bacteria lives on the dirt."
Despite her concerns, Foxcroft says she didn't file a complaint with MIQ staff at the time because she had already complained about cold food and the lack of a microwave, which she felt were more pressing issues.
But she says she's now "extremely concerned" that poor cleaning protocols are in place at MIQ facilities nationwide, and that kids and adults risk getting sick by being there for two weeks.
"I worry for people with children who stay in those facilities - and not just for COVID. What about all the tummy bugs you get? What about all the other viruses you get, you know? Because we're coming from all over the world, we could bring in anything."
Cleaning protocols are 'robust' - Head of MIQ
Joint Head of MIQ, Brigadier Rose King, told Newshub all facilities follow robust cleaning and sanitising protocols when rooms are prepared for new arrivals.
She also explained why cleaning products and a toilet brush hadn't originally been provided to Foxcroft.
"Due to strict Infection Prevention and Control protocols we operate under, cleaning products and materials, such as toilet brushes, are not left in rooms but are available on request. These are thoroughly cleaned before they are supplied to returnees," Brigadier King said.
"The MIQ Welcome Pack is a guide issued by MBIE to help inform returnees about their stay in our facilities. Additionally to this, the Novotel & Ibis Ellerslie provides a hotel welcome pack, which includes more specific details, including the cleaning and housekeeping arrangements at the hotel.
"This pack advises that housekeeping will be in contact every couple of days to see if any items in the room need replenishing and that people are able to request cleaning products if they wish."
Brigadier King says anyone who has concerns about anything in their room should contact the facility directly so that they can work to address or resolve any issues.
Some MIQ facilities may need cleaning review - expert
Lesley Gray, senior lecturer at the University of Otago's Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice, says unclean MIQ rooms present hygiene and infection control risks.
"No one wants a dirty room... Plus, if deep cleaning has not been carried out, one wonders what else might not have been attended to thoroughly," she told Newshub.
"MIQ facilities need processes for deep cleaning of all rooms before each arrival and for some facilities this may need to be reviewed."
Gray says she herself has stayed in an MIQ facility and found it very clean, though research she conducted on the matter with 75 people showed thoughts on room cleanliness varied.
She says it's "very important" MIQ facilities have effective cleaning processes in place, and time in between guest room occupation is key.
"These rooms have been occupied, sometimes 24/7 for two full weeks. We rarely stay in our holiday hotels 24/7, so irrespective of whether these are MIQ rooms or standard hotel rooms, a thorough cleaning is required," Gray explains.
"Some viruses can live on surfaces for hours and days. For COVID-19, early studies suggest the half life of the virus aerosol is about one hour and is speeded up with increasing humidity and UV light, and so may remain viable for hours and up to days in a space - especially one with little or no opening windows."
Even if rooms aren't cleaned adequately, however, experts say it's not the most feasible source of transmission.
"I am not aware of any increased risk of COVID-19 transmission through poorly cleaned rooms," Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker told Newshub. "The main mode of transmission is through the air, by droplets and aerosols."
Gray says it's much less likely for COVID-19 to be spread from a departing returnee to a new arrival than it might be to acquire some other virus that are common in high-traffic environments - such as holiday hotels or holiday cruise ships - if the room has not been well-cleaned.
She says part of this relates to the time the room goes unoccupied between guests. The MIQ website indicates an 18 to 20-day turnaround of its MIQ rooms, including a one to two-day period for cleaning after the guests depart.
"The current 'cohorting' system of filling up a hotel over a four-day period already reduces availability by 15 percent," Gray explains.
"If in cohorting the rooms are allocated strictly by maximum numbers of days vacant, that would give four to six days empty up to the full 18-20 days, because the hotels may not be full once the cohort is complete.
"Filling the longest vacant rooms first is a good strategy coupled with deep cleaning will avoid risk of spread of viruses to the next guest, and for the most part returnees in these rooms will have had four negative tests before their own departure."
