A Māori tribe in New Zealand’s capital city has banned the traditional hongi at gatherings this week as more cases of coronavirus emerge.

On Wednesday night a third case was confirmed and the ministry of health asked for calm after sufferers and their families were criticised on social media.

In Wellington, local iwi (tribe) said a temporary ban would be placed on hongi between members at gatherings this week. A hongi is a traditional form of greeting in which two people press their noses to each other and inhale one another’s breath.

Te Rūnanga o Te Atiawa chairman Kura Moeahu said other tribes around the country were also grappling with whether to continue using hongi and he had been “inundated” with calls from government agencies seeking cultural advice.

“It’s not a ban – the word taupāruru is to actually confine or restrict movement in a certain place … it’s common sense about when coming into contact with people really,” Moeahu told RNZ.

“That’s not stopping people from doing what they want to do if they choose to do that but from a tikanga [correct] Māori perspective it’s the right thing to do.”

The ministry of health said it had placed no restrictions on hongi and was leaving it up to iwi to make their own decisions around the issue.

The deputy director general of Māori Health, John Whaanga, said similar concerns were raised about hongi during the Sars outbreak and his office had issued no directives then either.

Meanwhile, the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) has called for “calm and restraint” after members one of the New Zealand families affected by the illness were subjected to online abuse. The ARPHS director Dr William Rainger said the family had done everything right and minimised their risk to others by self-isolating at home.

“The woman with the virus has gone straight into isolation with her family when she was told she was suspected of having Covid-19,” Rainger said. “Yet they have become the focus of sustained and abusive bullying on social media and are being hounded by the media.”

“There is a high level of anxiety and concern in the school and wider communities, but it is not acceptable to attack people who have been caught up in this global outbreak. They have taken all the right actions to protect others.”

Rainger said health authorities had genuine concerns that such behaviour could lead people to hide any illness that might be Covid-19 and not seek medical attention. “We will not be able to contain this spread of this illness if the public response is so hostile towards cases and their families,” Rainger said.

The director general of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, said the ministry of health was urging New Zealanders to show those infected with the illness “support and understanding. Our task is to ensure they have all the support and health care they need,” Bloomfield said.

On Thursday, Air New Zealand said three cabin crew had been stood down from duties and gone into self-isolation after coming into contact with an infected passenger.







