Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker says his heart goes out to Charlotte Bellis and others desperate to return to Aotearoa.
Bellis is currently pregnant and stuck in Afghanistan after missing out on a spot in managed isolation and quarantine.
Baker told Morning Report MIQ is still necessary, but how rooms get allocated could do with some tuning.
"There's about 500 people a day going through MIQ at the moment, and obviously, you want a robust allocation system.
"It sounds like it needs attention, and I think the Charlotte Bellis case illustrates that."
Baker is expecting a move to from managed isolation to self-isolation soon, but for now says having controls at the border will help slow the spread of Omicron in NZ.
