New Zealand's Health Minister Calls Himself 'an idiot', Gets Demoted By Country's PM
Home > News Shots > World newsAs most of the countries are under lockdown due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak, New Zealand's health minister David Clark called himself "an idiot" after he violated the lockdown restrictions. He has also been demoted for breaching strict nationwide lockdown rules.
As per The Guardian report, just days after being criticized for going mountain biking during the isolation period, Health Minister David Clark later admitted that he had also driven 20 kilometers (12 miles) with his family to a beach for a walk.
Soon after revealing a 20 km drive to the beach along with family, Clark, labeled himself as an "idiot," and said he offered to resign to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. He also admitted what he did was wrong and knew he should have set an example.
"At a time when we are asking New Zealanders to make historic sacrifices, I've let the team down. I've been an idiot and I understand why people will be angry with me," he said in a statement, as per a report in AFP.
Meanwhile, angry Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, said that she would have normally sacked him but decided to demote him in the cabinet rankings instead. "What he did was wrong, and there are no excuses. But right now, my priority is our collective fight against COVID-19. We cannot afford massive disruption in the health sector or to our response. For that reason, and that reason alone, Dr. Clark will maintain his role," she said.
Looking at the rise with COVID-19 outbreak, nearly 75,000 people have died due to the pandemic and over 1300,000 are currently affected all over the world.