'Vile' rumours circulate about NZ family at centre of coronavirus outbreak
New Zealand’s government has quashed “harmful and dangerous” rumours about its recent outbreak of coronavirus.
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield confirmed 13 new cases on Sunday.
All but one of Sunday’s cases were community transmissions and appeared to be linked to a cluster in Auckland where the most recent outbreak started, Dr Bloomfield added.
The remaining person was a traveller returning from abroad and staying in managed quarantine.
The new cases bring the number of active cases in New Zealand to 69.
The Auckland cluster started from a family of four that had travelled to Rotorua, Dr Bloomfield confirmed on Tuesday.
Health minister Chris Hipkins on Sunday urged New Zealanders to stop sharing rumours and “vile slurs” about the origin of the second wave.
“Not only was it harmful and dangerous, it was totally and utterly wrong,” Mr Hipkins said.
One of the rumours is the virus was spread due to a woman unlawfully entering a quarantine facility.
“I want to say this again. It did not happen. It was fully investigated, and that investigation concluded that it was completely false. There have always, and always will be, rumours,” he said.
“But this one smacked of orchestration, of being a deliberate act of misinformation.”
Pacific health leader Dr Colin Tukuitonga has been speaking with the family.
He told The New Zealand Herald the family were “shell-shocked” after finding out they had the virus.
“They were a little embarrassed that it had happened to them,” Dr Tukuitonga told the paper.
He added “comments on social media have turned nasty”.
Mr Hipkins urged New Zealanders to “think twice” before sharing unverified stories.
with AAP
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