Woman unapologetic after public meltdown over hotel quarantine meals

A woman in hotel quarantine in New Zealand says she has “no regrets” about a very public meltdown over a meal served to her kids.

A woman who had a highly visible meltdown over her family’s meal in New Zealand’s hotel quarantine says she regrets nothing and would do it all over again.

New Zealand’s managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) officials transferred a family with Covid-19 to a different isolation facility after the angry woman had a meltdown over her children’s meal.

She left her room against regulation, screamed profanities at staff and military personnel, threw an item against the wall in the hotel lobby and appeared to climb over the reception desk.

“I did it at the time for my kids but I would do it for your kids,” the woman said in a Facebook Live post this morning.

A woman who had a highly visible meltdown over her family's meal in MIQ says she regrets nothing and would do it all over again.

“I just want everyone to know there’s real virus sh*t we are dealing with. Use your negativity on the virus. Don’t use it on what I did for my kids. Any mother would do that.”

The Herald reported yesterday the confrontation, which she broadcast live on Facebook in a video she titled “**** yous Novotel”, has been viewed widely since it was posted on Wednesday afternoon.

“I called you to tell you we got f***ing pizza that’s already eaten – given to my f***ing kids,” the mother yelled moments later in the lobby, as she pounded on the door to the hotel office – demanding a woman who had talked to her earlier on the phone come out.

“You really f***ing done it now. F***ing got your f***ing s****y pizza.”

In a statement to the Herald, Joint Head of MIQ, Brigadier Rose King, estimated that pizzas were delivered to the family at about 3pm.

The woman was staying at an MIQ hotel in New Zealand. File image. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images

“We have assurance that the food could not have been delivered incomplete,” she said. “The most likely scenario is that the pizza became cosmetically damaged during the delivery process.

“Workers at our facilities do their very best to ensure that people’s needs are met, however, sometimes things don’t go perfectly and we apologise for that.”

Rose King described the woman as having been abusive over the phone over “staff attempts to reason with her”. Her decision to then leave the room and confront staff – despite having tested positive for Covid-19 – has resulted in some now having to isolate “due to the high-risk bubble breach” and other staff not returning to work today over fears for their safety, she said.

“I understand that being in quarantine, especially with children, can be very stressful, even more so for New Zealanders who never expected to be in that situation,” she added.

“Abuse towards anyone, however, is not acceptable.”

This article originally appeared on the New Zealand Herald and was reproduced with permission