An unvaccinated man who intentionally caught Covid-19 and was hospitalised now says he regrets his actions.
In a post to Facebook, an Aucklander said he had tested positive for Covid-19 and was left weak and bedridden. The man became very ill and it's understood he infected several family members.
During the time of his infection he was taken to hospital and was recently discharged.
The man said he survived Covid-19 as an unvaccinated person and did not wish his experience on anyone.
"I survived Covid unvaxxed but I just wanna say that I do not recommend this little experiment to anyone."
He acknowledge that he put people at risk and said he couldn't apologise enough for that.
He also thanked North Shore hospital staff who cared for him during his stay.
A video posted on Facebook shows him being reunited with loved ones after being discharged from hospital.
As of Monday, there are 81 people with the virus in hospital today, up from yesterday's 74. Of those in hospital, 80 are in Auckland. A 6-week-old baby is in hospital in Whangārei.
There are seven people with Covid in intensive care or a high dependency unit, up two from yesterday's five.
The average age of those in hospital is 51.
An Auckland high school student who tested positive for Covid recently spoke out about his experience with the virus.
Mt Albert Grammar School 18-year-old Tali Meavale caught Covid at the start of the current Delta outbreak as part of a cluster of cases at Mangere's Assembly of God church.
Now he is sharing his story and creating videos about his experience to help educate elderly Samoans better understand social distancing and what happens when you test positive.
He is also speaking out to address what he feels are shortcomings in the way health teams handled the cases among Samoan people.
"On arriving at the courthouse, they actually tried to sell the pig to its real owner."