133 Molesworth Street 
PO Box 5013 
Wellington 6140 
New Zealand 
T+64 4 496 2000 
 
11 November 2020 
 
 
H. Campbell 
[FYI request #12717 email] 
 
 
Dear H. Campbell 
 
Re: Response to Office of the Ombudsman investigation ref: 526231 
 
The Ministry of Health (the Ministry) has been advised of your complaint to the Office of the 
Ombudsman in response to the Ministry’s decision to withhold the ethnicity and age of those 
who had died from COVID-19 in New Zealand in your request of 28 April 2020 (H202002618 
refers). 
 
The Ombudsman has held that the Ministry was entitled to withhold most of the information you 
requested but should have released information on three deaths that were already publicly 
announced at the time. For this reason, the Ministry can confirm that as at 28 April 2020, three 
of the 20 individuals who had died from COVID-19 were of European/Other ethnicity and the 
ages were 62, 74 and 87 years. 
 
The Ombudsman has also directed the Ministry to release a summary of the information, in the 
public interest.  
 
As at 28 April 2020, 16 of the 20 people who had died from COVID-19 were of European/Other 
ethnicity. The remaining four people were Māori or another ethnicity group used for COVID-19 
reporting (Middle Eastern/Latin American/African). 
 
I trust this information addresses your complaint. 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
 
 
 
Rebecca Drew 
Group Manager COVID-19 Science and Insights 
COVID-19 Health System Response 
 
 
cc 
Michael Cleary, Investigator, Office of the Ombudsman 
([email address]) 
 

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