The businessmen who helped save us

Stuff reports:

Warehouse founder Sir Stephen Tindall, Trade Me creator Sam Morgan and former Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe joined forces to help ready the country to fight Covid-19.

Together they ordered 50 intensive care ventilators, seven planeloads of PPE protective clothing and equipment, and met with the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern the Sunday before lockdown was announced to urge the Government not to delay shutting the country down to try to limit deaths and eradicate Covid-19.

Thank goodness she listened to them, and changed the strategy from mitigation to elimination.

Ironic that all the Government defenders attacked Sam Morgan for daring to have written an article calling on the Government to move faster. And it turns out he was the guy who was right.

“A number of us guys had a meeting with the prime minister and Grant Robertson on the Sunday before lockdown,” said Tindall.

“Some of us, Sam Morgan and I in particular, realised there was a lot of stuff not getting done. We basically took the bull by the horns along with the guys from Zuru, and used our own money and ordered up a whole heap of PPE gear. There’s actually seven planeloads coming. Two have arrived already.”

Great initiative.