David Clark is out of his depth and struggling to keep up with the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) coronavirus response, National’s Health spokesperson Michael Woodhouse says.

“It took 12-15 hours for MOH to announce the second case of coronavirus, while the third positive case was blurted out by David Clark on Breakfast TV this morning completely lacking in detail and only causing more concern.

“There needs to be a firm process around how information is disseminated regarding the outbreak to ensure the public is fully informed, updates shouldn’t be randomly announced when the Minister needs something to say on TV.

“It’s important that the public is reassured and that information is conveyed quickly and effectively without risking the personal privacy of individuals effected.

“David Clark has been absent from most MOH briefings and has been dipping in and out of the response at random. The first community transmission was revealed this afternoon and David Clark was not even present.

“The Prime Minister didn’t even let him join her for her Post-Cab update on the outbreak. It’s clear there is a lack of confidence in his handling of the response and he is not connected with his officials.

“This is a big issue and the public needs clear and concise information to ensure panic doesn’t set in. The Minister needs to get this under control.”

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