With Pasifika making up the bulk of positive Covid-19 cases in the current outbreak, community leaders are battling the stigma and shame some think is attached to it.
An informed community is an empowered community, is the message they say will help save lives.
"We weren't the infection problem but we lost our jobs, but this time it's the other way around, we're actually hitting the infection," Pasifika Medical Association's Dr Kiki Maoate told 1 NEWS.
Around three-quarters of all cases in the current outbreak are Pasifika.
Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa says it's a key message to the community.
"Of the 74 community transmission cases right now, 54 are Pacific people so we need to be really vigilant, so it's really important to get tested."
While Pasifika have the highest testing rates of any group, what's proving challenging is the shame many feel about Covid-19.
Community leader Pakilau Manase Lua believes the stigma is based in history, as the 1918 influenza killed so many.
"That stigma is still there, having the disease and not being able to do anything about it," he says.
"[There's] also a lot of misinformation floating around in our community."
That same stigma is reflected in the US, where Pasifika have up to 10 times the transmission rate of white Americans.
Leaders there claim shame is fuelling the virus spike; one Covid-positive family admitted to hospital is determined to help change that.
"If we can save a life here and there, I'm happy," one family member says.
"I will take all the name-calling and the backlashes, but as long as we keep informing somebody who wasn't informed before."
In Auckland, Dave Letele of Buttabean Motivation says being open about sharing information is key.
One of his bootcamp members has tested positive and he couldn't be prouder of how they've responded.
"The person is a superhero," he says.
"For the person to come out and let us know so we could then take action and so swiftly, I can't speak highly enough of the person."
Former Covid-19 patient Sela Alo is fronting the messaging from the Ministry of Pacific Peoples.
"Just know that people outside have got your back and I've got your back," she says.
They're encouraging words for a community that needs it the most.
SHARE ME