Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern calls out bullying of coronavirus patients
Sunday, 29 March 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is calling for New Zealanders to stop bullying people who have been diagnosed with coronavirus.
The announcement came at a press conference in Wellington at 1pm on Sunday, where the country's first death from coronavirus was also announced.
Ardern said she had heard reports of comments online that she would have said 'amount to bullying'.
'Having the virus is difficult enough, and the 514 people who have or had the illness need support,' she said.
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NetSafe chief executive Martin Cocker said he supported the call from the prime minister.
'The Harmful Digital Communications Act makes it an offence to harm someone using digital technologies in this country,' he said.
'Online bullies should be aware of the potential legal ramifications of their actions and we advise anyone who sees these harmful messages to report them to us.'
Earlier this month, an Auckland woman diagnosed with coronavirus said her family had experienced bullying and misinformation.
'People assume we are these monsters that have all these symptoms out in public infecting people. We've had very, very, very few symptoms,' she said.
A Wairarapa man who has the virus said he had also been the target of harassment.
Last week, he said people in his community were spreading rumours and bullying him, and it was starting to take its toll.
'That brought me down … and I had a couple of breakdowns,' he said.
'Just with being locked away on your own and reading some of these things … it's been a bit unfair.'
At a press conference on Saturday, Civil Defence Emergency Management director Sarah Stuart-Black also urged people to be kind to each other, after reports of online bulling.
'It is not acceptable to attack people who have been caught up in the pandemic,' she said.
On Sunday, 63 new cases of coronavirus were announced, taking the nation's total count to 514.
New Zealand is in a national state of emergency and will remain in lockdown for at least four weeks.