Covid-19 coronavirus: Nurse Jenny McGee returns to New Zealand

Jenny McGee, the Kiwi nurse who helped save the life of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has returned to New Zealand, as nurses here face the potential of being asked to work even if they are Covid-positive.

McGee spoke to Newstalk ZB's Francesca Rudkin today, revealing how her life had changed since the pandemic began - and what she thought of New Zealand's new policy for Covid nurses.

McGee said it was "amazing" to be back home.

"It's been a long time coming but it feels really good to be here," she told Rudkin.

Jenny McGee, the nurse from Invercargill who tended to Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK, stands outside No. 10 Downing Street. Photo / Supplied

McGee revealed that she was in the shower when she first heard that she had been name-dropped by her famous patient.

"I jumped out and saw my phone going berserk," McGee said, adding it came "out of nowhere".

She said her "world exploded" and believed the popularity of her story was that it offered a bit of hope and humanity amidst the omnipresent Covid gloom that dominated the news cycle at the time.

She said the public glare almost overwhelmed her but family stepped in to manage the media interest while she worked on to battle the pandemic in a UK hospital.

McGee told Rudkin that the second wave of Covid was worse than the first wave that caught Boris Johnson.

She said it was relentless, adding that at times "it didn't seem that there was a way out."

Comparing our relative approaches to Covid, McGee said that health bosses in the UK had to take "desperate measures" to keep staff at work during the pandemic - but NZ's recent decision to allow Covid-positive health workers to treat patients "boggles the mind".

British Prime MInister Boris Johnson meets with New Zealand nurse Jenny McGee and other people involved in his care during Johnson's stay in hospital recovering from Covid-19. Photo / Supplied

Critical healthcare employees can now work while Covid positive, but only as a last resort and with strict conditions about how they spend their day.

The Ministry of Health has issued guidance around delivering critical health services saying non-symptomatic Covid-positive workers can go back to work without isolating if a service risked being substantially compromised due to a lack of staff because of Covid.

Changes have also been made to section 70 of the health order so critical workers who provide a health service or managed isolation or quarantine service can leave isolation for work.