WELLINGTON (AFP) – New Zealand’s government said yesterday it would not ask for British DJ Dimension to be prosecuted for breaking COVID isolation rules and creating an Omicron infection scare.
The electronic music artist, real name Robert Etheridge, said he had misunderstood the rules when he mixed with people before getting a final negative test result.
“The Ministry of Health does not plan to refer this case to the police at this stage,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The ministry needs to balance the deterrence effect from any potential prosecution with enabling an environment that does not discourage future cases from assisting with the public health response to COVID-19,” it said.
Etheridge said on Thursday he was “devastated” to discover that he had tested positive after emerging from 10 days of isolation including three days at his residence. The DJ failed to wait for a negative result from his last test taken on day nine of isolation before going out into the community.
