This is the story of New Zealand’s 44th Covid-19 patient. He wishes to remain anonymous and will be referred to as "Patient 44'".
A recovered Covid-19 patient who had his name accidentally published on the Ministry of Health website earlier this year says he’s “disgusted” by the actions of National MP Hamish Walker and Michelle Boag.
“I’m absolutely disgusted by what he had done, and that disgust goes as far as well to the person that provided the information to him, a former president, a senior member of the National Party,” the man said.
The man is referred to as Patient 44 because he was the 44th person to test positive for Covid-19 in New Zealand.
In March, his name was published on the Ministry of Health website. The Ministry of Health apologised for its actions and removed the private information once they realised.
“It’s private information, any medical information is private,” he said.
Patient 44 said the release of his private information caused a lot of concern to him and his family, especially his son who was “very upset” by it.
“I’ve got quite big shoulders, but it’s my family members who don’t necessarily have quite big shoulders, so I was more concerned for them,” he said.
Patient 44 had a message for Mr Walker and Ms Boag.
“Firstly, Michelle the fact that you had that information, you didn’t need it for your role as the chair of an emergency services helicopter trust and you certainly shouldn’t’ve been sharing it with other people,” he said.
“Hamish, there’s no words to describe what you did, I’m just grateful there are professionals within the media environment within New Zealand who chose not to publish it,” he said.
Patient 44 and his family have now fully recovered from Covid-19.
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