Massey offers conflicting advice compared to the government over lockdown, confusion ensues

Students has been left confused by contradictory advice from Massey University and the New Zealand Government after Auckland’s Alert Level increased to 3 while the rest of the country went to Level 2. 

In a recent email sent to students, Massey University advised that you would need to continue to follow Alert Level 3 guidelines and remain at home if you were travelling back to your normal home from Auckland after the lockdown began. 

However, on the Government’s Covid-19 website, it states that, “If you visited an Alert Level 3 area and have returned home, you should follow all of the relevant Alert Level requirements in your area… You only need to isolate if you have been to a location of interest.” 

These two pieces of advice appear to directly contradict one another, which has made one student who returned from Auckland to Wellington over the weekend unsure of what to do. They say that they had not been to any locations of interest or expressed any symptoms of Covid-19. Because of this, they thought they would be fine to return to their classes. However, when they saw the Massey email, they feared that they would be forced to stay home, missing important course content.  

“I felt like following current government guidance would suffice,” they said. 

After checking with their course coordinators, the student was cleared to return to their classes on Monday. Because of this, they are uncertain if all the staff and students are aware or clear on the all the specifics of Massey’s advice.  

When approached for comment, a Massey spokesperson said that they stand by the emailed advice, which they say supports the recommendation of the Government and experts.  

They say, “While there is no official requirement for those who haven't visited a location of interest to isolate once returning home from Auckland, notable experts and the Prime Minister have requested that people do this to help reduce the risk. On that basis, Massey University is acting with an abundance of caution and is requesting that staff and students who return home from Auckland stay home from campus for seven days… We strongly urge our university community to embrace the public health principles shared by the Prime Minister and experts which has included the concept of taking alert levels with you if you leave a region.” 

For students who have visited a location of interest, they recommend 14 days of self-isolation post-exposure and to seek advice from the Ministry of Health. Anyone who feels ill after returning from Auckland should self-isolate at home and contact the Ministry of Health for advice. There is no requirement for others in your household to self-isolate unless you visited a location of interest, were in contact with a case, or become ill and are advised by the Ministry to self-isolate and be tested.