Three new community cases of Covid-19 and an unknown source have plunged Auckland into lockdown and the rest of the country into alert level two. Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles tackles some of the critical questions we now face. Could we be looking at a situation as worrying as last August in Auckland? Yes. Like in August, … Read more
Our understanding of the way Covid-19 is transmitted from person to person has changed a lot since the pandemic began. A year in, here’s what we now know. It’s just over a year since the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised its highest alarm over Covid-19, declaring it a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). … Read more
At least three new, more contagious Covid variants have been spreading around the world. Here’s how they emerge and why. Let’s start with the basics. The genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for Covid-19 is a strand of RNA made up of almost 30,000 nucleotides. Those nucleotides – adenine, cytosine, guanine, and uracil – … Read more
The new variants of the virus can spread like wildfire, and all of us have a role to play in keeping them out of the community. I have to admit, when I first heard UK prime minister Boris Johnson talking about a new, more transmissible strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, part of … Read more
The speed at which Sydney’s new Covid-19 outbreak has spread should be a lesson in the dangers of complacency, says Siouxsie Wiles. With news of a new strain of the Covid-19 virus spreading in the UK, it looks like Australia’s Christmas plans are also up in the air with a new cluster of cases in … Read more
New Zealand has agreed to buy four Covid-19 vaccines, in volumes that are more than enough for everyone in New Zealand and for some of our Pacific neighbours too. Siouxsie Wiles on what yesterday’s announcement means, and what comes next. First a quick recap. There are lots of different ways to design a vaccine, which … Read more
Every year high school biology teachers gather to learn the latest in science. This year there’s a lot to catch up on, Maurice Wilkins Centre organisers Rachel Heeney and Dave Grattan tell The Spinoff. Last year, terms like “elimination strategy”, “flatten the curve” and “sustained transmission” were foreign to the majority of New Zealanders. Next … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Stories of the modern housing crisis, commerce commission to study supermarket industry, and Tauranga’s local government civil war deepens. The term ‘housing crisis’ featured a lot in NZ politics over the last decade, but it means different things to different people. In today’s Bulletin, I’m going … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Rapid response taken to new community Covid case, calls for urgency on sick leave increase, and the situation internationally. A community case of Covid-19 is causing alarm, given at this stage there are no established links to the border or a managed isolation facility. The government … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Rain still falling in hard-hit Napier, Covid-19 vaccine news comes with a catch, and government’s books in a better shape than expected. It’s still raining heavily in Napier, and the flooding damage has got worse in the last 24 hours. As Stuff reports, hundreds of houses experienced a … Read more
How would this promised Pfizer vaccine get from the factory to being administered? Does this mean we can stop doing things to stop Covid-19 transmission? And what does 90% effective really mean? Siouxsie Wiles takes on some important questions around this promising development. It’s all go on the Covid vaccine front this week. While the … Read more
A governor general, a microbiologist, a New Zealander of the Year, an Oscar-nominated producer and a comedian walk into a bar. The punchline? They all struggle with imposter syndrome despite being extremely cool and successful women. “I’m the governor general, I have to accept that I’ve done some things right – it can’t have been … Read more
A small but vocal movement calling for the end of lockdown restrictions is gaining steam globally. Dr Siouxsie Wiles explains why such an approach would be a bad idea. As life in Aotearoa gets back to some kind of normal after our latest Covid-19 outbreak, cases in the northern hemisphere are on the rise again … Read more
The government has signed its first binding agreement to secure a Covid-19 vaccine. But what exactly is the vaccine, who’s likely to get it and when? Siouxsie Wiles talks us through it. This week the New Zealand government announced it has signed its first binding agreement to secure a Covid-19 vaccine. If everything goes according … Read more
Don’t approach the task as a battle to be won, but as a conversation to get to the underlying reasons why someone might have been susceptible to the false information in the first place. Last week marked six months since the WHO declared Covid-19 a pandemic. How the world has changed in that time. Here … Read more
It’s likely you’re being exposed to masses of Covid information on a daily basis, and not all of it will be reliable. Here are some tips for telling the difference, and stopping the spread. Thanks to Covid-19, most of us have a new word in our vocabulary. Epidemiology: the branch of medical science that deals … Read more
Filmmaker Gwen Isaac was meant to be in Japan filming a documentary about a New Zealand MMA fighter. But when Covid-19 hit, she found herself embedded in the household of Dr Siouxsie Wiles, documenting a different type of fight. I had never heard of Siouxsie Wiles before March this year. Then, suddenly, she seemed to … Read more
All the illustrations and animations in one place. The animations and illustrations created by Toby Morris in collaboration with Siouxsie Wiles and published by The Spinoff have been shared in their hundreds of millions over the last couple of months. For ease of reference we’ve put them all together in one post. You can also … Read more
With over 24 million confirmed cases and more than 820,000 people dead, Covid-19 is playing out differently in various parts of the world. To understand this a little better, Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris walk you through the Covid-19 ‘triangle’. Since this pandemic started, I’ve been getting lots of messages from people and hearing an … Read more
The simple rules for wearing face masks during levels two and three – and how they can effectively limit the spread of Covid-19 Lots of people might be wondering why we’re now being asked to wear face masks when we didn’t use them the first time we were stamping out Covid-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand. … 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
Results of two vaccine trials are in and the news is encouraging. Siouxsie Wiles explains what it all means, and what happens next. As the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 approaches 15 million, with more than 600,000 deaths around the world, there is at least some positive news on the vaccine front. The results … Read more
Mistakes in the testing regime for people departing managed isolation have prompted alarm about the possibility the virus has been seeded locally. Dr Siouxsie Wiles offers a dose of perspective, and explains why the critical line of defence remains the isolation and quarantine process. Both the leader of the opposition Todd Muller and University of … Read more
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
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Ardern to zoom in to Australian cabinet meeting today, concerning situation arises at Waitākere Hospital, and a Zero Day finally achieved. Jacinda Ardern will make a rare appearance by a New Zealand PM at the Australian government’s cabinet meeting this morning. It’s a big moment as … Read more
In the third in our new video series 60 Seconds with Siouxsie, Dr Wiles explains why we’ve heard so little about Covids 1-18. A short and sweet video made possible by the support of Spinoff members, about the origins of the name “Covid-19”. Contrary to what you might have heard from Trump megaphone Kellyanne Conway, … Read more
In the third in our new video series 60 Seconds with Siouxsie, Dr Wiles explains why Donald Trump’s latest suggestion is bonkers. In this video, made possible by the support of Spinoff members, Siouxsie Wiles says the American president’s idea that disinfectant might be able to rid people’s bodies of Covid-19 is wrong and dangerous. … Read more
New Zealand is pursuing an ‘elimination’ strategy to counter the coronavirus pandemic. But that word, as with many terms in science, is not necessarily the same as its common usage. Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, our plan is to eliminate Covid-19. We have long since abandoned the “flatten the curve” strategy, which aims to slow … Read more
A lot of people are very reasonably concerned about the implications of schools and early childhood education reopening. Siouxsie Wiles explains what the latest studies can tell us about the risks. When Aotearoa New Zealand heads to alert level three, schools and early child education centres will be opening again. They will only be available … Read more