The Ministry of Health has today responded to allegations from Case D - an Auckland woman who was diagnosed with Covid-19 on November 12 - that she had no access to a translator during interviews.
Yesterday, the woman in her 20's referred to as Case D filed a sworn statement saying the ministry did not appoint a translator for her until yesterday.
She said in the statement that her main language is Mandarin and suggested that what she said had been misinterpreted - she said she had not called in sick and been forced to work after a conversation with her manager, as the Ministry said on Thursday.
Ministry of Health Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay said during Thursday's briefing that the woman in her 20s became symptomatic on November 9, was tested on November 10 and went to work on November 11, despite being asked to self-isolate.
In her statement yesterday, Case D said; "On the 11th, my sore throat had gone and I did not feel any discomfort , so I went to work. I wore a mask just to be safe. My employer has instructed us to wear a mask whenever possible. It is not unusual for us to wear masks at work, so my manager, co-workers and customers thought nothing of it. I did not think there was any chance that I had coronavirus."
She said she did not tell her boss or manager of the above and did not request leave at any time.
The infected person works in a clothing shop on High Street and lives in the central city.
"I did not think it was a big deal."
However, the woman learned on the morning of the 12th November that she had tested positive for coronavirus and says she "cooperated with the government to take quarantine measures". It was then the government arranged for staff to interview her and trace her contacts and movements, she said.
Case D yesterday alleged in her affidavit sent to 1 NEWS by her lawyer, that she had asked "many times" to have a translator appointed and that staff made "many errors" in recording her information. However the ministry said today the woman opted to speak in English, not Mandarin.
"Today, the 13th of November, after having to ask many times, the Government have finally arranged a Chinese translation service for me to communicate with the tracing team. Once they speak to me again, without the language barrier, I hope that they can restore the truth and the media can report the true story," Case D said in her statement.
She also alleged that the lack of a translator, she has resulted in a misunderstanding that has led to harassment of herself and her employers.
But today, a Ministry of Health spokesperson said "the Ministry stands by the information it released publicly as being an accurate reflection of the information it was provided".
"The Ministry has been informed by Auckland Regional Public Health Service that a Chinese-speaking nurse sat in on the interviews and offered to interpret, but that the case opted to speak in English.
The spokesperson said that "all case interviews are recorded with detailed notes and contain personal health information" hence the notes wiil not be released.
"Relevant information gained from these interviews, that assists in managing public health risk is made public," the spokesperson said, saying that "ARPHS' process requires all cases to be offered an interpreter if English is a second language."
The Ministry spokesperson said the latest information does not affect in any substantive way the public health actions being taken.
SHARE ME