Closure of Aaron Lodge Supported Isolation and Quarantine Facility

On 30 September 2022 Aaron Lodge in Dunedin will be retired as a Supported Isolation Quarantine (SIQ) Facility for COVID-19 patients in the Southern district.  

Aaron Lodge opened in December 2021 as a dedicated SIQ facility in Dunedin. It offered a place where COVID-19 positive people could safely isolate if they were unable to do so in their own homes.  

“Aaron Lodge was an invaluable resource in the Southern COVID-19 response,” said Susan Moore, National Public Health Service Southern COVID-19 Manager. “We want to reassure our community that rooms are still available throughout the district and will continue to be available to anyone who finds themselves in need of an SIQ facility. Due to waning demand this will now be carried out on a case-by-case basis as it is in other areas of the Southern district. 

The National Public Health Service Southern and Te Whatu Ora Southern would like to thank all people and businesses involved in the running of Aaron Lodge as an SIQ facility and we particularly would like to thank Kāinga Ora for allowing us to set up Aaron Lodge as an SIQ facility in a short period of time. Their support and assistance has been greatly appreciated.” 

Sandra Rivett, SIQ Project Manager, thanked SIQ staff for their efforts. “I would like to mention the SIQ staff at Aaron Lodge, who have worked extremely hard in a fast-paced and sometimes stressful environment,” said Ms Rivett. “Their continued commitment and hard work had a positive impact on all people who used Aaron Lodge as an SIQ facility and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them publicly. They were part of the many people quietly working behind the scenes during the Southern COVID-19 pandemic response whose work had a tangible, positive impact on the Southern community.”