Kiwi companies can unlock MIQ gridlock

Tāmaki Makaurau -  Tens of thousands of New Zealanders are locked out of the country and many NZ export companies are relocating staff offshore because of a logjammed MIQ system.

But Auckland tech company Jupl has developed a self-isolation solution.

Jupl co-founder Sir Ray Avery says they have developed a system so Kiwis are not locked out of the country which will help ease MIQ issues.

His company has come up with a plan to safely open up New Zealand to the world, using a home based self-isolation system.

“New Zealand is blessed with some outstanding healthcare tech companies and we can provide an end to end, best of breed, home quarantine service to safely open up our border,” Avery says.

Jupl has launched a self-isolation solution which can ensure all arrivals into New Zealand can safely home-quarantine at a much lower cost than the government-run MIQ facilities.

The company says it is a world leader in medical grade personal monitoring systems which comply with all necessary privacy regulations.

The plan is for all self-isolation arrival passengers to be fitted with a Jupl non-removable wrist strap at the airport.

The wrist strap is paired to a dedicated pre-programed Jupl mobile phone so passenger movements may be tracked and traced 24/7 via the Jupl cloud based monitoring service.

“If the person removes their wristband or leaves their designated home quarantine area then an alarm is  automatically sent to managed isolation staff," Avery says.

“Multiple wristbands can be paired to the Jupl mobile phone in the event that a returning family wants to home isolate in their own bubble.

“Jupl will partner with established travel companies  making sure that from booking, boarding, processing through immigration and travel to their home, they will meet all Jupl self-isolation protocols.

This includes pre-departure documentation including a valid covid vaccination certificate and a negative covid test, no more than 48 hours old and transport from the airport using protocol-approved and trained drivers wearing medical grade personal protective equipment.

Jupl chief executive Alan Brannigan says when the arriving passenger picks up their home-isolation kit it is already pre-programmed.

“These details include covid support information, self-isolation address, family and next of kin details, quick dial personal numbers and direct dial emergency numbers.

“All they have to do is switch it on and they are entered into the Jupl self-Isolation system.

“Initial home covid testing and ten day covid release testing may be conducted by private healthcare providers who can also provide remote healthcare checks and contactless delivery of any medicines that the returnee may require during their isolation.”

Avery says the Jupl system is an opportunity to rapidly implement covid home quarantine services managed by professional independent travel and healthcare providers in technical collaboration with existing MIQ management teams.

For further information contact Make Lemonade NZ editor-in-chief Kip Brook on 0275 030188.