Goodbye social distancing, hello the ‘new normal’: NZ prepares for level one

The country’s coronavirus restrictions might be coming to an end sooner than you think. Justin Giovannetti looks at what level one rules mean for you. Crowded stadiums and restaurants filled to capacity could be reality in New Zealand as soon as next Wednesday as the government eyes an early move to eliminating nearly all remaining … Read more

Live updates, June 2: Move to alert level one could come next week; apprenticeships to be fully subsidised

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this work, … Read more

Live updates, May 31: No new cases, earthquake strikes near New Plymouth

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

Live updates, May 30: No new cases; Covid-19 testing centres closing

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

Live updates, May 29: One active case remaining in NZ, with zero new cases for seventh day

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

Covid-XV: Rugby’s super-genius law change ideas, explained

The brains trust at World Rugby have conjured up some optional law trials to obviate the risks of coronavirus. Scotty Stevenson is intrigued. The World Rugby Executive Committee yesterday announced that it had “approved 10 optional law trials which are designed to provide national member unions with Covid-19 transmission risk reduction options if required”. This … Read more

Live updates, May 28: No new cases, one new death; Peters wants fast-track of trans-Tasman bubble

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

Live updates, May 27: No new cases for fifth day; Collins ‘sick of being demonised for my ethnicity’

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

What digital contact tracing looks like around the world

A week ago, New Zealand launched its official contact tracing app to help in the fight against Covid-19. How does it compare to some of those overseas? NZ COVID Tracer has been live for less than a week and so far it’s been downloaded by more than 400,000 users. The current version of the app … Read more

Live updates, May 26: No new cases; Muller goes up against PM at Question Time

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

Dominic Cummings went to Durham in lockdown, and bared his arse at Britain

The chief propagandist of rage against the privileged Westminster elite has proved himself the epitome of the privileged Westminster elite, writes Elle Hunt from London. He is the prime minister’s top adviser, he unambiguously broke the rules around lockdown, and people have already been fired for less. But I never really thought that Dominic Cummings … Read more

Live updates, May 25: Gatherings maximum lifts to 100; alert level one decision day 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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

Never let a good crisis go to waste: How our food sector can save NZ’s economy

The world will always need food, and New Zealand is enviably positioned to capitalise on this, writes future foods expert Rosie Bosworth – but we need to take a few big steps first.  It’s a bittersweet moment for New Zealand. As a nation we’ve collectively worked hard to successfully flatten the curve (for now). But … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, May 24: No new cases, Baker talks up trans-Tasman bubble

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

South Africa from my living room window

Felix Geiringer had no idea what was in store for him when his family moved to South Africa early this year. Here he writes about the move, the science of cooking eggs and Covid-19. In January, I moved to South Africa with my family. The move came about after my partner was appointed New Zealand’s … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, May 23: No new cases; NZ company to start working on vaccine

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: Contact tracing apps, explained

Speed is of the essence when breaking any chains of transmission, and that’s where contact tracing apps come in. The Spinoff’s coverage of Covid-19 is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here.  As Aotearoa New Zealand celebrated another day with no new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, the Johns Hopkins global … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, May 22: Bridges has no regrets, Muller pledges to be constructive

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

Covid-19, crisis and transformation: An interview with Jacinda Ardern

The prime minister discusses the crunch decisions as the coronavirus threat spread, what comes next, and the ‘transformational’ idea, with Spinoff political editor Justin Giovannetti.  Jacinda Ardern was watching coronavirus in China with growing concern in January as developments were still largely limited to foreign news reports. The scale of the virus and its speed … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, May 21: No new cases; Disastrous new poll for Bridges

Photo of a middle-aged politician, eyes closed, chin raised, during a press conference bristling with microphones

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, May 20: No new cases, increase to gathering size limit to be decided on Monday

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, May 19: No new cases; more public holidays mooted

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

On set with New Zealand’s hottest lockdown filmmaker, Joseph Parker

With the possible exception of Sam Neill, no New Zealander personality has been pumping out the Covideo content quite like heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker. Patrick McKendry joins him to talk viral content and boxing. Joseph Parker is celebrating the easing of New Zealand’s strict coronavirus lockdown regulations by walking up the long driveway of his … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, May 18: Poll shows Labour and Ardern surging ahead

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

‘Constant rule changes’ make for a tough start to alert level two for hospitality

Restaurants, cafes and bars have been allowed to reopen, with a whole lot of ever-evolving caveats. We check in on how the first few days have been. Inconsistent messaging and last-minute rule changes made the first weekend of alert level two “incredibly challenging” for hospitality businesses, says the Restaurant Association. The organisation worked with the … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, May 17: Preparing for school; one new case; more 5G cell towers attacked

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

How sex workers are keeping clients in line in a pandemic

These text conversations (warning: explicit content) with clients prove sex workers are surely New Zealand’s most under-acknowledged public health educators.  Imagine you’re a physiotherapist. Hell, you might actually be one, in which case this will be easy for you. In this scenario, we’re still in level four. You can do phone consultations but that’s it. … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, May 16: Zero new cases, poll offers hope for tourism industry

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more

Covid-19 live updates, May 15: one new case of Covid-19

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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more