A Wellington restaurateur was told by health officials that one of his venues had been visited by a Covid-positive person. So why did the health minister and director general of health not know anything? Stewart Sowman-Lund reports. You’d think the possibility that Covid-19 was in capital would be big news. Big enough, perhaps, that the … Read more
The Covid resurgence cluster is now at 29 confirmed cases, with one further unlinked case. Chris McDowall presents the latest information in visual form. With thanks to the Science Media Centre. Information about the resurgence of confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand is changing rapidly. These posts collate the most recent statistics … Read more
Auckland is at alert level three, and the rest of the country level two, until midnight tonight. At 5.30pm this evening, we’ll find out what happens next. These are the factors cabinet is likely to consider in making the decision. During the first wave, the announcement we were moving into lockdown felt sudden. This time, … Read more
Whether it’s a grant or a wage subsidy, industry leaders say Auckland businesses need government support. With the mending glue barely having dried, some Auckland businesses will be cracking again under the pressure of the new level three lockdown. Now they are calling on the government to help. Finance minster Grant Robertson has already hinted … Read more
They’ve been through it all before, so how are Auckland students and teachers coping with the second move into level three? And how are other schools preparing for the possibility they’ll soon be doing the same? Last time the country went into level three lockdown, on March 24, schools had less than a day to … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Timeline for decision on alert levels released, updates on new cases and testing, and a failure of testing at the border has potentially severe consequences. Right now, we don’t know what the situation around alert levels will be at the end of the day. There was … Read more
The public hated National’s politicisation of the coronavirus crisis the first time around. So why is the party doubling down on it now? So far the National Party leadership team of Judith Collins and Gerry Brownlee has been a lot milder than everyone expected. Judith Collins has arched her eyebrows and reprised her ‘Crusher’ character, … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 13, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and Covid-19 as it returns to the community. Auckland is now in alert level three and the rest of NZ level two. More details here. Official information here. Get me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz. 8.50pm: Case at Glamorgan Primary in Torbay, … Read more
The Covid resurgence cluster is now at 17 people. Chris McDowall presents the latest information in visual form. With thanks to the Science Media Centre. At today’s 1pm press briefing the director general of health, Ashley Bloomfield, announced 13 new cases of Covid-19 detected outside isolation or quarantine in the Auckland region. All of these … Read more
What the deputy leader of the opposition has been implying lately is more than ‘nonsense’ – it represents a threat to one of New Zealand’s most powerful and undervalued assets, writes Duncan Greive. Things started getting interesting last Friday. National’s deputy leader Gerry Brownlee appeared on RNZ’s Morning Report to discuss the new government mask … Read more
A new New Zealand-made drama about life in lockdown was dropped from Prime’s schedule, just days before it was due to start. What’s going on? Peter Salmon reckons the perfect time to watch a New Zealand drama about a second-wave Covid lockdown is during a second-wave Covid lockdown. Prime disagrees, having removed new short drama … Read more
In this Herald Premium article, the NZ Herald’s Matt Nippert and Keith Ng pick through forecasts and data to find an economy doing better than anyone predicted. As Auckland confronts a second round of community transmission, the gap between predictions and reality might hold clues that can help government and business safeguard the economy. When … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Collins calls for a delay in the election, an update on community transmission and testing, and businesses fearing the fallout of another lockdown. At this stage, the election is still scheduled to take place on September 19. But with the country’s largest city currently in level … Read more
The health workers and contact tracers are out on the front lines, but in the backrooms teams of mathematicians are running scenarios to figure out exactly what needs to be done, and how bad things could get. In big picture terms, fighting a pandemic is a numbers game, but with real world consequences. To succeed, … Read more
The novel coronavirus mutates as it travels between people and around the world. By sequencing the genome, we can try to work out which case is linked with another. As Aotearoa confronted its first cases of Covid-19 community transmission in more than 100 days, the director general of health, Ashley Bloomfield, raised genome sequencing – … Read more
And is he about to launch a coup against Judith Collins? Just asking questions here. Jacindamania was meek by comparison. Just as Ardern captured a nation from the role of deputy leader of the opposition in 2017, so it is with Gerry Brownlee in 2020. Relentlessly grouchy, Gerrymania is in full flow, as most recently … Read more
At lunchtime yesterday, Jacinda Ardern was easing into full campaign mode on the main street of Whanganui. Just a few hours later, news from Auckland turned her plans, and an election campaign, on their heads. Justin Giovannetti reports from Whanganui and Wellington. Jacinda Ardern’s first day on the campaign trail outside the friendly confines of … Read more
One bright spot amid the grimness of the Covid resurgence: the return of our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations of the pandemic by Chris McDowall. Over one hundred days, Covid-19 slowly slipped from my attention. I was aware of new cases reaching Aotearoa’s border, managed isolation breaches, relapses in Australia and growing concern … Read more
Justin Latif takes the temperature of his community in South Auckland, ground zero for the latest Covid-19 outbreak. Following the prime minister’s announcement on Tuesday evening, my messenger app began pinging with pictures and videos of people at the supermarket. But it wasn’t panic buying that I was seeing, rather there was a sense of … Read more
Are you trying to wander the world with your government recommended mask while wearing glasses, but can’t stop them from fogging up? Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Today, Jacinda Ardern said that Aucklanders should wear a mask (or a face covering of some kind) when they leave the house. But what if, like our … Read more
Last night Jacinda Ardern and Ashley Bloomfield announced four cases of Covid-19 in the community. Within hours the online community transmission of dumb takes was going like wildfire. It didn’t take long did it? Before the anti-Covid God squad shit the bed and started screeching about how they’ll never wear a mask because, ah, freedom? … Read more
Along with heightened alert levels, New Zealand has a new advisory on masks: Aucklanders should wear a face covering when outside the home, and the rest of us have been advised to wear one when in a confined public space, such as on public transport. But what kind of mask do you need, and where … Read more
Auckland is now at alert level three and the rest of New Zealand has moved to level two. Here’s what you need to know about what’s happened so far, as at lunchtime on Wednesday. Last night, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, and the deputy general of health, Ashley Bloomfield, announced that four people in one … Read more
Today at noon, Auckland moves into alert level three while the rest of New Zealand moves into alert level two. Here’s how it will affect businesses and what you can do to help. Three days at a higher alert level may not seem like much, but for many fragile businesses still recovering from the devastating … Read more
Parliament is scheduled to be dissolved today for an election on September 19. University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis runs through how and under what circumstances the election will happen – or be delayed. This post has been updated following the prime minister’s announcement that the dissolution of parliament will be deferred. No matter … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Resurgence plan triggered by Covid-19 community transmission, questions about what it will mean for the election, and Christchurch rest home lockdown appears to be unrelated. The first new cases of Covid-19 outside of managed isolation have been announced, triggering a resurgence plan from the government. There … Read more
Beyond the direct and practical implications, more significant for the eventual outcome is the effect on the electorate’s psyche, writes Ben Thomas. It’s tempting to reach for easy metaphors with the re-emergence of Covid-19 just weeks before the election: a horror villain rising from the dead; a restless spirit summoned to again haunt the dreams … Read more
Aotearoa surpassed 100 days without a case of community transmission of Covid-19. Last night that virus-free streak ended and we’re moving back up the alert levels. Siouxsie Wiles explains why that has to happen. For months now, we’ve been intercepting cases of Covid-19 at the border. But just as has happened in many other countries, … Read more
The confirmation of community transmission has prompted a swift move up the alert level ladder. Here are the critical questions about Auckland’s move to Covid-19 level three lockdown, answered. What are the new alert levels – and where do they apply? Auckland enters alert level three at midday today, Wednesday August 12. At the same … Read more