According to political pressure group Lobby New Zealand, which obtained the OIA documents, this shows Ardern “owes an apology to the south Auckland family involved”.

“In no circumstance should a COVID-19 patient feel the brunt of misinformed public scrutiny by the Prime Minister or any public official. This undermines the success of New Zealand’s ongoing goal of no community transmission,” it said in a statement.

The Ministry of Health directed a request for comment to the Prime Minister’s Office, which replied: “A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said the content of the letters have been publicly available for some time and she had no additional comment to make on them.” 

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A contribution from The BFD staff.