Health Minister says 'deliberate and malicious spreading of misinformation' will slow NZ's return to Level 1

September 10, 2020

Chris Hipkins says it’s ok to be questioning, but correct information must be shared.

The Health Minister today slammed "organised campaigns" spreading Covid-19 misinformation, as another two cases were linked to a Mt Roskill church.

Chris Hipkins says it’s OK to be questioning, but correct information must be shared.

"This virus is real and it is deadly, but if we follow the rules we can get back to as close to normal as possible," he said.

"What continues to be troubling and is threatening to block our path to Level 1 is repeated, deliberate and malicious spreading of misinformation.

"We are continuing to see organised campaigns that are designed to confuse and to sow doubt about our response.

"Everybody has a right to be sceptical and hold their own views, but equally everybody has a right to be safe so please think twice before sharing or passing on something that you cannot verify."

Hipkins pointed to the spread of the virus globally as a way to illustrate the danger.

The “virus is real and deadly”, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said today as two more cases associated with the Mt Roskill church mini-cluster were announced.

“We do need to accept the science, watch the news and see what’s happening internationally with the countries struggling with it where deaths are a daily occurrence.

“We are fortunate in New Zealand through the measures we have taken to not see that occurring, what that means though is that people are becoming more sceptical as times go on.

"The reality is though just look at what is happening internationally you can see this is very real and the virus is very deadly and there is no vaccine, but through our collective efforts we can give the virus nowhere to go."

There were six new cases today, all from the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship church.

He says the Government is not looking at a "punitive approach" for rule breakers at this stage as it means people will "stop sharing information when we desperately need them to".

A statement from the Ministry of Health today said the two new community cases have come about as a result of people coming into contact with a person or people already confirmed as having the coronavirus.

"As far as we can tell they were unaware they had been infected and were incubating and spreading the virus at the time.

"This underscores the importance of close contacts following the public health advice they’re given which includes strict self-isolation even if they don’t have symptoms, and even if they have returned a negative test.

"We are aware that church leaders are actively encouraging all members of the congregation to retest by Friday and to comply with other public health advice such as self-isolation."

As of 8am today, 213 of the 332 congregates at the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship church had been tested for Covid-19.

SHARE ME

More Stories