Coronavirus: Nick Mowbray says frontline health officials share concern around Govt response

Masked health officials in the customs hall at Auckland International Airport. Photo / Jason Oxenham

An entrepreneur says frontline doctors have backed up his claims the Government is doing too little to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Yesterday, Zuru founder Nick Mowbray said there was so much more that needed to be done, from tightening up our borders to greater testing.

"We need to get ahead of this. Now is the time to act," Mowbray said yesterday. "There is no point waiting for it to become a crisis, because it will."

Since the article was published, he had heard from numerous health officials throughout New Zealand who reiterated his concerns.

Major concerns included the number of ventilators in hospitals and the stock levels of protective equipment.

"In Pukekohe in the ICU, the doctor I spoke to said they were down to their last two face masks left," Mowbray told the Herald.

"There's nowhere near enough and doctors across Auckland are all saying the same thing - there's not enough personal protective equipment and we haven't even started the crisis."

Earlier today, it was revealed New Zealand had its sixth positive case of coronavirus.

Aged in his 60s, the man recently returned to New Zealand from New Jersey, United States and was currently at home recovering in self-isolation.

Waitematā District Health Board chief executive Dr Dale Bramley confirmed the news to the media on Saturday afternoon.

Bramley was alerted to the sixth case on Friday and the man, who was doing well at home did not require hospital treatment.

There was still no community spread of the virus, Bramley said.

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