A photograph taken of Health Minister David Clark's van at the carpark of a Dunedin mountain bike park, on Thursday April 2, a week into a full scale lockdown of New Zealand.

Health Minister David Clark drove to a Dunedin park two kilometres from his home to ride a mountain bike trail, as New Zealand marked a week in lockdown.

Clark, who earlier on Thursday told Stuff the coronavirus response was his "singular focus", said he didn't "want to give anyone the perception" that he was taking the lockdown lightly, after his van was photographed at Logan Park — a 2.3km distance from his home.

Kiwis have been ordered to stay at home for a four-week lockdown — a severe measure hoped to break the community transmission of Covid-19 — but there has been considerable confusion about the type of exercise permitted.

​Stuff was sent a photo of a Toyota Hiace van marked with Clark's face parked near Signal Hill Lookout on Thursday afternoon, from a source who declined to be named.

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"I know single parents with grumpy kids and no job who are sticking, under huge stress, to the police rules to only do essential travel. I was horrified to see the minister's car parked at at the normally busy local mountain bike trail carpark," the source said.

"There were no other cars there and I wondered what 'essential business' was being done. Are ministers and their families above the law?"

Clark, in a statement responding to queries from Stuff, confirmed he went for a bike ride between video conference meetings on Thursday afternoon.

"As health minister I try to model healthy behaviour ... This was my only chance to get out for some exercise in daylight hours," the statement read.

Clark said he drove to a mountain bike trail called "The Big Easy". The trail, according to the Mountain Biking Otago club website, is an "easy" rated trail that is 6km long.

"The track itself is not challenging, and is widely used by families and foot-traffic. I know that now is not the time for people to be engaging in higher-risk exercise activities," he said.

"I don't want to give anyone the perception that I take these matters lightly. This is a reminder to me to think carefully about how best to fit some exercise into my new-normal routine."

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF Health Minister David Clark said his Thursday afternoon trip to a mountain bike park was part of modelling a "healthy behaviour".

Clark, earlier on Thursday, said he had declined to receive a highly anticipated review of the health system due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"My singular focus is on the health response to Covid-19," he said.

Under the strict lockdown rules, people are only permitted to leave their home to work at essential businesses like a supermarket, to buy groceries or medical supplies, or to exercise.

But the vague rules around the type of exercise that is allowed, and whether people can drive to a park or beach to get some fresh air, have caused confusion for many.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and senior government officials have in recent days said short drives to beaches or parks were permitted provided people "stay local".

Activities that could require a person to be rescued, such as surfing, should be avoided.

A Nelson emergency department doctor, Tom Jerram, on Thursday said people should not mountain bike, even on easy trails, during the lockdown as they may injure themselves and take up hospital resources.

"We may not have the hospital capacity to treat you and we want to reserve all our capacity for fighting this illness," Jerram said.