Lessons learnt from a complaint about the poor state of a Rakiraki isolation facility will be used to ensure it does not happen again, Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong has assured.
During a news conference on Sunday, he said there were pictures circulated on social media “that demonstrate conditions are not that good”.
“I don’t know when those photos were taken,” he said.
“The disease is not predictable. I can’t predict when we are going to find a case, so when we find a case, the first thing we do is contain.
“After we contain then we improve the place.”
Dr Fong said because swift action needed to be taken to contain potential risks, facilities may not be up to par.
“But that’s just the nature of the beast we are dealing with – things occur suddenly, you make a move.”
He said the Rakiraki situation resulted in improvements being made going forward.
“We probably need to get more containment facilities upgraded and waiting for use so it’s in a more ideal setup.”
