New Zealand soon moves into alert level four to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Everyone is required to stay home as of 11.59pm Wednesday. Except essential services. What are those? Updated with new guidelines issued at 9.30pm on March 24 Announcing the historic decision to institute a nationwide shutdown as of Wednesday, Jacinda … Read more
New Zealand is about to move to alert level four in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will put the nation, in effect, on lockdown for four weeks. At least. Here’s what that means in practice. When does it start and what do I do? The lockdown starts at 11:59pm on Wednesday. From this point … Read more
As Covid-19 forces New Zealand into lockdown, domestic violence crisis services are preparing for a rise in people needing support. Alex Casey reports. Domestic violence agencies around the country are scrambling to increase and diversify their crisis services and refuge accommodation as New Zealand prepares to escalate to alert level four on Wednesday night. That … Read more
With a mandatory four-week shutdown about to come into force to prevent the spread Covid-19, New Zealand’s economy faces one of the most uncertain periods in its history. We ask two leading economists to help us find meaning in the madness. There may come a time in the next few days or weeks when you … Read more
The world, and our lives, are transforming before us, writes Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick, who has been self-isolated for over a week. As our collective fast-paced metabolism meets a slowing down of the world around us, it’s time to look after your mental health. In the blink of an eye, the world has changed. What … Read more
Mixing online and offline information, you can set up a network to keep in touch, and help those who need it. I’ve put together this how-to guide to help neighbours around Aotearoa quickly build the infrastructure to help the people who live on their street get virtually connected. This is just one way to do … Read more
With mass unemployment coming, some existing benefit rules are going to exacerbate people’s problems. The size and suddenness of the Covid-19 shock has highlighted just how far New Zealand has allowed its welfare system to run down. The government yesterday announced extensions to its wage subsidy scheme and that it is “expediting urgent work on … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: We’re going to level four by Wednesday night, Robertson massively expands economic package, and political parties put country above politics. As you might be able to imagine, there’s a bit of news to get through this morning. The effective shutdown of the country (which for clarity, … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level three. As of 11.59pm on Wednesday we go to level four: the country shuts down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded … Read more
Once again, New Zealanders are caught up in world events that will test our mettle. This time, the battles will be fought at home, writes Dame Anne Salmond. When I was a little girl, I knew that my Mum and Dad had lived through World War II, and the Depression. I grew up with wartime … Read more
With New Zealand moving to the highest Covid-19 alert level within 48 hours, here’s how schools and early childhood facilities will be affected. What in the world is going on? With New Zealand’s first cases of community transmission confirmed, the prime minister has announced an immediate lift in the Covid-19 alert status from level two … Read more
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today announced that New Zealand will be moving to the highest Covid-19 alert level within 48 hours. Here is her speech in full. The Cabinet met this morning to discuss our next actions in the fight against Covid-19. Like the rest of the world, we are facing the potential for devastating … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. An explainer on self-isolation is here, on social distancing here. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here. 8.10pm: The day in sum Prime minister … Read more
Kevin Ward, an urgent primary care physician, is behind a petition urging the government to shift to the highest alert level. Danyl Mclauchlan spoke to him. On Saturday the prime minister revealed the nation’s four-level Covid-19 alert system. We’re currently on level two, which means, among other things, that people aged 70 and over should … Read more
What we choose to do over the next few weeks could define our lives. There is an inconvenient truth about Covid-19. Although it is blindingly obvious, bringing it up makes us uncomfortable. And that is why we need to talk about it a lot more. This is history. It’s that simple. Before you nod and … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: How the new alert system will work, dozens of new cases announced over weekend, and a great idea from several Wellington hotels. How will day to day life change with the new alert system aimed at combating Covid-19? To put it bluntly, it will have to … Read more
Rongotea has created a pandemic support network with not much more than a cellphone, an email address and goodwill. Liam Hehir explains how it works, and gives instructions on starting your own. I live in Rongotea, a small village in the Palmerston North commuter belt. Its people are a mix of professionals working in town, … Read more
Sweeping new restrictions on travel and assembly are being rolled out, with more likely. Andrew Geddis details the laws which allow the government to impose them. Covid-19 has plunged Aotearoa New Zealand (indeed, the world) into territory that, while not totally unprecedented, certainly hasn’t been seen during the lifetimes of most of us here today. … Read more
In a time when accurate, expert advice is more important than ever, RNZ’s Hayden Donnell asks why New Zealand’s entrepreneur community has been so prominent in the media. Reporting on the Covid-19 crisis comes with a weight of responsibility for news organisations. Getting timely, accurate information on efforts to slow the spread of the virus … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. An explainer on self-isolation is here, on social distancing here. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here. Read live updates for Monday 23 March … Read more
New Zealand craft distilleries are part of a global trend of temporarily halting production of spirits to turn their hands to a sought-after product in the fight against coronavirus. Boutique distilleries are diversifying in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, switching production from vodka and gin to hand sanitiser. Auckland-based distillery CarbonSix, which produces its own … Read more
The alert system signals the start of a new phase in NZ’s battle against Covid-19. Siouxsie Wiles explains what it means, with illustrations by Toby Morris. The Spinoff’s ongoing expert-led, evidence-based coverage of Covid-19 is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here. For the last few weeks, I’ve been urging you … Read more
A widely reported study revealed that Covid-19 can be made to be airborne. That doesn’t mean you’ll ever catch it that way. You may have seen several reports over the last few days that the Covid-19 coronavirus is airborne. This is in the news again because the study I wrote about a week ago has … Read more
New Zealand is currently at level two in the aftermath of two suspected cases of community transmission. Jacinda Ardern has addressed New Zealand from parliament today to announce a new four-tier alert system to convey expected behaviour as the country deals with the rise of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The prime minister described our current status … Read more
An unscheduled Covid-19 special ran in place of Seven Sharp last night, and Duncan Greive says it brought out the best in both its participants and the medium itself. Over the past decade there has been an inexorable gravity sucking us toward social media. Young men, whipsmart and in a hell of a hurry, created … Read more
As we head into our first weekend with many of us in self-isolation and practising social distancing, Sam Brooks offers a few tips on how to be social while saying alone. “I want to be alone.” – Greta Garbo, in Grand Hotel. Those famous words are probably the opposite of what you’re feeling if, like … Read more
Some thought the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes would be the end of Christchurch – they weren’t. For all its unique challenges, we have it in us to get through Covid-19, too, writes earthquake scientist Ursula Cochran. We can do this. Darfield 2010, Christchurch 2011, Seddon 2013, Kaikōura 2016. We have already had our lives turned … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. An explainer on self-isolation is here, on social distancing here. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here. 7.30pm: The four alert levels Here’s a … Read more
For beneficiaries and thousands of soon-to-be unemployed, some tough situations are looming in trying to navigate Work and Income’s bureaucracy. Alex Braae reports. With three kids at home showing symptoms of illness, and having recently been in contact with someone from overseas, Jane* knew staying home was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, she also … Read more