’People think we have the plague’

Managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) workers in Canterbury say they’ve been discriminated against and treated unfairly by family, friends and neighbours.

The Canterbury Regional Isolation and Quarantine leadership team commissioned a survey of MIQ workers late last year after numerous staffers reported experiencing stigma in their day-to-day lives. A total of 356 workers in various roles across Canterbury’s MIQ facilities took part, which sought to determine the toll their jobs had taken on their lives.

The vast majority of respondents (86.5 per cent) said they were proud of the contribution they were making to New Zealand’s Covid-19 response. Fifty-two per cent agreed their job was fulfilling, and most felt valued by MIQ management and guests.

But outside the MIQ facilities, respondents reported a more negative experience. ‘‘When people find out I work in a managed isolation facility, their whole behaviour changes and they can’t get away quick enough,’’ one respondent said.

Another said they were made to feel like they could not be proud of their job. More than a third of respondents (136) said they were discriminated against when trying to access health services. ‘‘I cannot access my GP, I feel like people think we have the plague,’’ one respondent said.

A third (119) experienced unfair treatment in social settings, 17 per cent (61) said their work affected their ability to make or keep friends, 15 per cent (54) experienced discrimination by family members, and nearly one in 10 (33) said they were unfairly targeted by neighbours.