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The New Zealand health minister has pleaded with people to stop spreading misinformation about the coronavirus, as the government struggles to contain a mini-group centered on an evangelical church in Auckland.
The mini-cluster started with four cases in the suburb of Mt Roskill last month and has now grown to 45 cases.
Health authorities say they have struggled to isolate and block the group, as some people have refused to cooperate, saying they do not believe in the virus and will not share their close contacts.
“The repeated, deliberate and malicious dissemination of misinformation” is also rampant online, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said, prompting him to issue a stern warning that lives are at stake.
“We have to accept science,” said the minister.
“We just have to look at what is happening internationally where it has gotten out of control and deaths are a daily occurrence. We are very fortunate in New Zealand that due to the efforts we have put in, we are not seeing it. However, that means that some people become more skeptical as time goes on. “
“The virus is very deadly and there is no vaccine for it.”
Pakilau Manase Lua is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and told RNZ that he regularly receives private messages from other church-goers who question the seriousness of Covid-19.
“Personally, I have received many private messages about information that people think is useful but that is pure misinformation, whether it is about the virus itself or the fear around the vaccine,” said Lura, who is also part of the team of Pacific response in Auckland. .
“It has spread like wildfire through social media.”
The health ministry has asked the 332 members of the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship to re-test for Covid-19, and so far 64% of the members have complied, with the church minister urging cooperation.
Fines or penalties for not cooperating with authorities were not yet being considered, Hipkins said, because it could cause people to hide their symptoms or go into hiding.
However, if repeat offenders continued to spread misinformation in the community, punitive action may be an option.
St Dominic’s Catholic College students had to be sent home and screened this week, after a member of the Mt Roskill church did not disclose all of his close contacts, and one, who tested positive, continued to attend school.
Health authorities are investigating whether the non-disclosure was deliberate.
