Capacity has been the main issue in our MIQ system.

So it’s hard to fathom that last week, there was just one person who stayed at a Wellington MIQ facility.

101 rooms at the Grand Mercure were sitting empty whilst up to 50 staff at the facility were looking after the one person.

National Covid Response Spokesperson Chris Bishop told Heather du Plessis-Allan it’s like Fawlty Towers, except it’s not funny, it’s ridiculous.

“You got tens of thousands of people offshore, Kiwis wanting to come home for family emergencies, for funerals, for births, deaths, weddings and can’t get in because they've got to play the MIQ lottery.”

LISTEN ABOVE

• MIQ hotel had just one guest in the past week, leaving 100 rooms empty