Covid-19: New Zealand cases mapped and charted, April 19

The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia helped create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in … Read more

Teachers voice concerns around school reopenings under alert level three

The country has been asked to prepare for a shift back to alert level three, which will entail the reopening of schools and early childhood education centres. Educators are worried lack of clarity around the reopening of schools could risk student and teacher safety.  On Thursday, Jacinda Ardern laid out guidelines for a relaxation of … Read more

The whispered condition: We have turned a blind eye to dementia for too long

Covid-19 has made us aware of society’s most vulnerable. Let’s make ‘being kind’ to them more than a blip on the radar, writes Alzheimers NZ chief executive Catherine Hall.  If the Covid-19 crisis has any upside it’s the fact that, for the first time in decades, the plight of New Zealand’s older people is receiving … Read more

A beginner’s guide to public health

The Covid-19 crisis has propelled the field of public health to the foreground. A few simple public health concepts could help keep us on track as we near one month in level four, writes Louise Thornley. Public health is suddenly part of everyday conversation. Many of us have become addicted to the daily Covid-19 update, … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, April 19: Nine new cases in NZ, level four exit criteria outlined

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 four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. 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. 7.00pm: … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, April 18: 13 more cases of Covid-19; today’s numbers charted

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 four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. 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. On … Read more

Covid-19: New Zealand cases mapped and charted, April 18

The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia helped create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in … Read more

Google mobility data shows consistent lockdown behaviour during week three

Fresh data shows most New Zealanders are staying at home, while activity in some regions has plummeted by 100%. Jacinda Ardern warned that week three would be the hardest period of level four lockdown, and more people would be tempted to leave their homes as the country reached the final stretch. According to Google’s latest … Read more

With porn consumption on the rise, now’s a good time for an awkward talk

In recent research on teens’ use of pornography, one message came through loud and clear: they’re keen to talk. But it’s parents who have to start the conversation, writes the Classification Office’s Kate Whitaker. Figures recently released by the free pornography site Pornhub show numbers spiking during the Covid-19 lockdown. While it’s natural that people … Read more

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: Why contact tracing is so crucial to moving out of lockdown

As we await a decision on moving out of alert level four, some big questions are in play. One of those is about contact tracing, explains Siouxsie Wiles. Illustrations and animations by Toby Morris.  This work is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Help us to continue this work by joining here. On Monday, the … Read more

Covid-19: New Zealand cases mapped and charted, April 17

The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia helped create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, April 17: Eight new cases, two further deaths; millions for Covid-19 research

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 four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. 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. 7.00pm: … Read more

Why increasing student debt is not a support package

A tertiary support package was announced by the government this week in an effort to help students financially struggling due to Covid-19. However, Isabella Lenihan-Ikin from the ­New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations argues that the new measures are simply not enough. On Tuesday, the government announced a Covid-19 support package for tertiary students. It … Read more

Covid-19: New Zealand cases mapped and charted, April 16

The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia helped create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in … Read more

Revealed: What life under level three restrictions will be like

The government has just unveiled more detail about what life will be like for New Zealanders under level three restrictions. What will it mean for schools, business and day-to-day life?  The first point – we still don’t know when we’ll move to level three. That has not been announced today, and an update won’t be … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, April 16: 15 new cases, level three rule changes announced

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 four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. 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. 7.00pm: … Read more

Enjoying the people-friendly streets of lockdown? Let’s make them permanent

We’ve had a taste of what streets designed for people, not cars, could look like. Let’s take those lessons with us when we emerge from lockdown, writes Emma McInnes. Our cities feel profoundly different these days. The whine and roar of traffic has been replaced with the chatter of birds, the squeals of delighted kids, … Read more

Even in extraordinary times, the right to privacy remains

Like many other of our rights and liberties, privacy has been upended by Covid-19. Privacy commissioner John Edwards looks at the hard choices we’re about to face. Privacy was described in a seminal 1890 essay as “the right to be let alone”. Now, in April 2020, we find ourselves instead obliged to stay alone. The … Read more

Anne Salmond: We need more than shovels to rebuild NZ post-Covid-19

After lockdown, we will need to take a hard look at how we rebuild. ‘Infrastructure’ means a lot more than motorways, writes Dame Anne Salmond. In the wake of Covid-19, as New Zealand gets ready to make a graduated exit from lockdown, ministers, officials and other leaders are thinking hard about how to kickstart the … Read more

Journalism in crisis: NZ media bosses at the Covid-19 committee

At today’s online meeting of the Epidemic Response Committee, media representatives have appeared in the unfamiliar seat of the interviewed rather than the interviewer. Here’s a highlights package. Committee chair Simon Bridges opened by acknowledging the parlous situation the New Zealand media find themselves in. He also noted that representatives of NBR and Māori TV … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, April 15: 20 new cases; ministers to take a pay cut

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 four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. 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. On … Read more

Covid-19: New Zealand cases mapped and charted, April 15

The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia helped create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in … Read more

Siouxsie Wiles: About those cries of ‘over-reaction’ on NZ’s Covid-19 response

According to a group of academics, the New Zealand response doesn’t match the threat posed by Covid-19 and should be substantially loosened. Siouxsie Wiles unpicks their claims. A group of six New Zealand academics yesterday announced their “vision for a balanced response” to the Covid-19 pandemic. They are calling that vision “Plan B”. They even … Read more

Covid-19: New Zealand cases mapped and charted, April 14

The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia helped create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in … Read more

The perils of loneliness in the time of Covid-19

Even in normal times, loneliness takes a terrible toll on society’s most vulnerable. Now with New Zealand under lockdown, we need to be even more mindful of the risks. These are disorienting times. The benchmark for what’s “normal” is shifting so rapidly it’s dizzying to remember what we were all doing just a few weeks … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, April 14: PM on ‘our deadliest day’; support package for students announced

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 four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. 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. On … Read more

Covid-19: New Zealand cases mapped and charted, April 13

The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia also helped create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates … Read more

Masks, hydroxychloroquine and onions: What happens when the public pose the questions to Dr Ashley Bloomfield?

The director general of health hosted a Facebook live event this afternoon. It got a little sketchy at times. “I’m not as practised at this as the prime minister,” said Ashley Bloomfield at the start of a Facebook live event, wherein he traded out the press gallery for some moderately screened questions from the public. … Read more