Jacinda Ardern accepts health minister’s resignation over coronavirus blunder

Embattled NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern has accepted the resignation of one of her senior ministers following a series of COVID-19 bungles.

One of the most senior members of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s government has resigned after a border blunder that allowed two overseas visitors infected with coronavirus to travel around the country and revelations that hundreds of other people in hotel quarantine weren’t tested for the virus.

The bungle came just weeks after New Zealand was declared coronavirus-free and almost all social distancing restrictions were ended. It’s a debacle that has become an embarrassment for the PM just months ahead of a tight general election.

Health minister David Clark fell on his sword this afternoon saying he had become an “unhelpful distraction” for the government.

He insisted he wasn’t pushed. Ms Ardern accepted his resignation and said it was “essential our health leadership has the confidence of the New Zealand public”.

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New Zealand health minister David Clark has resigned following a series of COVID-19 blunders. Picture: Hagen Hopkins/Getty

New Zealand was rocked last month when it was discovered that two British visitors had been given compassionate grounds to leave enforced hotel quarantine early but had not been tested for COVID-19 prior to their departure.

The pair then travelled 650km from Auckland to Wellington, meeting friends on the way, while infected with the virus. They were only tested in the capital where they discovered they had coronavirus.

It was then revealed they were two of 50 people who had been given permission to leave quarantine early. Just four of those were tested.

Visitors and returning residents to New Zealand were allowed to leave this Auckland hotel untested on compassionate grounds. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images

It later emerged that of the 2159 people who completed quarantine between June 9-16 – the same week the two UK visitors got an early mark – only 1010 were tested for coronavirus.

Of the rest, around 800 essentially vanished, failing to get into contact with the authorities to arrange a test. This was despite health department rules that demanded every person in quarantine be tested twice before they departed their hotel.

National leader Todd Muller – who will be PM if Arden’s Labour Party-led coalition loses the September poll – said the lack of testing was a “national disgrace”.

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The government has since stopped all compassionate early releases from quarantine.

Following the blunders, Mr Clark was criticised when he was accused of pushing director- general of health Ashley Bloomfield “under the bus” when he appeared to try and shift blame for the lack of testing.

It’s not the first time Mr Clark has been scrutinised during the pandemic. He was demoted after driving his family to the beach for a walk during the country’s strict lockdown.

Ms Ardern herself has come under fire for not apologising for the coronavirus stuff-ups, but rather saying that she felt “remorse”.

The blunder has been a major distraction for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ahead of the upcoming election. Picture: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

“I take full responsibility for decisions made and taken during my time as minister of health,” Mr Clark said today in Wellington.

In a statement reported in the New Zealand Herald, Ms Ardern said she had accepted Mr Clark’s resignation.

“David has come to the conclusion his presence in the role is creating an unhelpful distraction from the Government’s ongoing response to COVID-19 and wider health reforms.

“It’s essential our health leadership has the confidence of the New Zealand public. As David has said to me the needs of the team must come before him as an individual.”

The PM insisted the country’s management of the pandemic was now on a “stable footing”.

ELECTION IMMINENT

Ardern will be hoping Kiwis still trust her given New Zealand’s next general election is due to be held in less than three months, on September 19.

Despite her global high profile, Ardern only has a tenuous grip on the country’s parliament. Her government, which is in coalition with the conservative New Zealand First party, has exactly the same numbers of MPs as the opposition National Party.

Only a confidence and supply agreement with the Greens delivered her the top job in 2017. Just a small swing away from Labour could see her turfed out and the Nationals’ Muller become prime minster.

However, her and her party’s popularity remains high. A May opinion poll found Ardern’s personal popularity was at almost 60 per cent, the highest ever for a New Zealand PM. While Labour were on 57 per cent. But it remains to be seen if the handling of the pandemic in recent weeks will have put a dent in those numbers.