individuals who had spent time in managed isolation and quarantine, caused by a lack of autonomy, social contact and control over their environment. in late january 2022, an auckland builder named paul mullaly described the miq system as "cruel and inhumane" after failing to secure a place in order to visit his mother prior to her death in new zealand. mullaly, who is based in ireland, was only able to watch his mother's last moments via video conference. on 17 february 2022, a survey commissioned by advocacy group "grounded kiwis" claimed that 78% of respondents reported that the miq system had an adverse impact on their physical and mental health. of these respondents, 70 percent experienced stress, 63 percent experienced anxiety, 35 percent experienced depression, 32 percent experienced insomnia, and 12 percent experienced panic attacks. the results of the survey were released to the news broadcaster newshub. following the downsizing of the miq system, stuff reported in early april 2022 that the new zealand defence force's two-year deployment in operation protect to manage the country's border facilities had contributed to rising attrition rates, low morale, and stress among military personnel. according to figures released by the defence force, the new zealand army's attrition rate had risen from 9% in february 2021 to 13.7% in february 2022. in addition, 7,600 personnel who had participated in operation protect underwent mental health screening while 1,800 personnel were referred to a mental health psychologist. issues accessibility the managed isolation and quarantine system, faced with high demand for numbers of accommodation spots at managed isolation and quarantine facilities, has rationed access. on 20 september 2021, stuff reported that 26,000 people were competing for 3,000 miq spaces listed on the ministry of business, innovation and employment website's "virtual lobby" allowing entry to new zealand in november and december 2021. in mid-september 2021, julie south of the veterinary recruitment agency vetstaff launched a petition calling for the government to set aside two miq spaces each week for overseas-based veterinarians in order to address the shortage of veterinarians in new zealand. difficulties for border-crossers in securing in miq facilities have attracted significant media and public attention. in early october, the southland times reported that southland hospital's maternity unit may be downgraded since its director, dr jim faherty, who had been granted compassionate leave to visit his ill parents in the united states, was unable to secure a place in miq. on 6 october, a pregnant auckland woman named sami filed a legal challenge against mbie's decision to deny her stranded husband an miq voucher so that he could care for her and their child. according to stuff, the miq system has received 229 applications involving a pregnant woman since 30 october 2020. however, there is no specific emergency allocation criteria for pregnant women or their partners who are stuck overseas. sami has sought to change that policy. on 20 october 2021, the chief onbudsman peter boshier launched an independent investigation into the miq system after receiving 200 complaints about the system. according to boshier, the complaints fit into four broad categories: "that the allocation system is unlawful, unfit for purpose, unfair, and poorly managed." on 22 june 2022, the new zealand herald reported that the government would investigate the allocation of emergency miq spots during covid-19 lockdown restrictions, with particularly attention to the treatment of pregnant women wanting to return to new zealand to give birth. on 12 december 2022, onbudsman boshier released his findings into the miq allocation system. his report found that mbie acted "unreasonably" in implementing the miq system during the covid-19 pandemic and that government officials did not acknowledge the impact that the allocation system would have on people's lives. boshier also found that the miq voucher system did not meet the needs of new zealanders who had a genuine or urgent need to travel nor those experiencing delays in returning to new zealand. in addition, there were no provisions for disabled people to independently apply for vouchers. in response to the onbudsman's report, grounded kiwis spokesperson martin newell endorsed the reports' findings, stating that the government "failed to develop a system that took more account of personal circumstance, as a result of that the process of booking an miq spot caused a lot of heartache for a lot of individuals." charlotte bellis in late january 2022, former al jazeera journalist charlotte bellis unsuccessfully attempted to secure a place in the miq lottery after becoming pregnant with her partner jim huylebroek, a photographer and contributor to the new york times. due to qatar's laws penalising extramarital pregnancy, bellis had left qatar. since she was unable to stay on a long-term basis in huylebroek's native belgium, the couple had travelled to afghanistan, where they had visas to live, and sought help from the taliban. bellis publicised her ordeal in an open letter published in the new zealand herald. besides the new zealand media, bellis' case was covered by several international media including the guardian, gb news, the washington post, abc news, and the sydney morning herald.> in response to media coverage, chris bunny, the head of the miq system, confirmed that staff had advised bellis about making a second application that would meet the requirements for emergency travel. bellis' situation was highlighted by act party leader david seymour, national party covid-19 response spokesperson chris bishop, and gb news presenter dan wooton as an example of the perceived "cruelty" of the miq system. after covid-19 response minister chris hipkins alleged that bellis had spurned a government offer for a place in emergency allocation, bellis' lawyer tudor clee accused hipkins of breaching her privacy. she also questioned the effectiveness of the emergency allocation system, citing the low success rate for pregnant women. according to the new zealand herald, only 29 of the emergency allocation applications involving a pregnancy that were submitted between 1 june 2021 and 1 february 2022 were approved. 65 applications were declined while 118 were cancelled by applicants or were not processed since they were incomplete. the herald also reported that miq had approved 5,396 of the 8,863 emergency allocation applications submitted between 30 october 2020 and 23 january 2022. on 1 february 2022, deputy prime minister grant robertson confirmed that the ministry of business, innovation and employment had offered bellis and huylebroek places in managed isolation. bellis accepted the government's offer but reiterated that she would continue to challenge the government's miq system. in mid-june 2022, hipkins publicly apologised for releasing personal information without bellis' consent and making "inaccurate comments" about bellis traveling to afghanistan and being offered consular assistance by the new zealand authorities. hipkins had earlier apologised in private to bellis in mid-march 2022. bellis accepted hipkins' apology while vowing to continue exposing the problems associated with the miq system. quality issues on 3 september 2021 a mother who tested positive for covid-19 drew media attention after verbally abusing staff members and military personnel at the novotel & ibis ellerslie miq facility. the woman had experienced stress and anxiety since entering into managed isolation earlier in the week with her two children. she was also frustrated by delays in the time that staff took to provide food and medicine to her and her children. the woman had posted several facebook live videos about her ordeal. in response, brigadier rose king apologised for the poor quality of the service but criticised the woman for verbally abusing staff and potentially exposing them to covid-19. as a result, two staff members have entered into self-isolation while other staff have not returned to work due to fears about their own safety. the family was subsequently transferred by miq staff to a different miq facility. on 4 september, the management of the sudima hotel auckland airport facility apologised to the quellin family after specks of urine and hair were found on the toilet seat within the family's room, but insisted they had followed normal sanitisation protocols. mrs quellin and her infant child had recently returned from a trip to germany to visit her terminally-ill mother. on 7 october 2021, a jewish miq guest at a christchurch facility complained that frozen kosher meals were unfit for human consumption. in response, an miq facility said the team at the facility in christchurch has solicited advice on how to best meet the requirements of a kosher diet. 2020 on 5 july 2020, it was reported that a woman who had escaped managed isolation at the pullman hotel in auckland had been apprehended and charged with breaching the 14-day isolation period under the covid-19 public health response act 2020. the woman had arrived from australia on 27 june. on 8 july, a 32-year-old man, who had arrived from india, was charged with violating section 26 (1) of the covid-19 public health response act 2020 after he escaped managed isolation at the stamford plaza hotel in central auckland. he visited the countdown supermarket in victoria street before being located by security guards after 70 minutes. after the man tested positive for covid-19, the supermarket closed temporarily, with its staff entering into self-isolation. on 10 july a man was arrested for violating the covid-19 public health response act 2020 after he had cut through a fence at a managed-isolation facility at distinction hotel in hamilton and visited a liquor store the previous night. the man had tested negative for covid-19 and was later identified as a 52-year-old queenstown resident, who had returned from sydney on 1 july. on 27 august the hamilton district court sentenced him to 40 hours' community service and ordered him to pay nz$1,000 in reparations for damaging a flat-screen television set in his room. on 11 july a man in his 60s escaped a managed-isolation facility at waipuna hotel in auckland and knocked on the doors of three residents outside the facility. he was subsequently picked up by police and placed under armed guard at waipuna hotel. on 25 july it was reported that authorities had detained a family of five (comprising a mother and four children aged 12, 16, 17, and 18) for breaching managed isolation at the distinction hotel in hamilton. the family had arrived from brisbane in australia on 21 july in order to attend a relative's funeral in auckland. while the family's application for an exemption was being processed by the health ministry, they had escaped by breaking a window and scaling a fence. police apprehended four members of the family in a nearby park, while the 17-year old had travelled to auckland where he was detained by police there. government minister woods criticised the family breaking the rules, stating that "while we can understand their grief we can not let one tragedy to turn into a tragedy of hundreds". four members of the family were charged with breaching a health act notice. on 28 august, the mother and her 18-year-old daughter were sentenced to 14 days imprisonment by judge noel sainsbury of the auckland district court. the mother and her daughter's harsher sentence in comparison to a 52-year-old man in hamilton who was sentenced to no jail time raised questions about alleged "systematic racism" in the new zealand justice system against māori. new zealand public party leader billy te kahika has advocated on behalf of the woman and her family, also claiming credit for getting her sentence reduced by seven days. on 30 july a 32-year-old man who had travelled from brisbane was apprehended following a failed attempt to breach managed isolation at the crowne plaza in central auckland. the man was charged under the covid-19 public health response act. on 14 october a 22-year-old woman was charged with allegedly trying to escape from auckland's grand millennium hotel during three incidents in october 2020. on 11 november the west indies cricket team were denied further training privileges after members breached managed-isolation rules by mingling and sharing food while in managed isolation at the "chateau in the park" hotel in christchurch. 2021 on 29 january 2021 a staff member at auckland's grand millennium hotel was dismissed after a 20-minute "encounter" with a returnee in managed isolation. on 7 february the final 60 returnees at the pullman managed isolation facility completed their health checks and were released. the facility planned a deep clean per infection prevention and its systems will be reviewed. on