Stories by Katie Todd

A Pasifika health expert says the number of Covid-19 cases and contacts isolating at home is already more than what health providers could keep up with in places like South Auckland.

With the amount owed in unpaid MIQ bills climbing to $38.7 million, one academic says it could be time to start charging interest.

Workers who have been running managed isolation facilities for two years fear their wages could be about to drop, if their hotels return to regular operations.

Some New Zealanders have jumped at the chance to reunite with loved ones and travel overseas, after learning the country's borders will slowly creak open this year. Audio

Some families are enduring five-week managed isolation and quarantine stays after testing positive to Covid-19, and purposely trying to speed up infecting each other.

One of New Zealand's key performances at the World Trade Expo has been unable to go ahead after members of Parris Goebel's Royal Family Dance Crew tested positive for Covid-19.

Hobson Bay residents fearing their health is at peril are frustrated it might take more than a decade to fix the issues that are causing wastewater and sewerage to leach into the environment.

Less than 48 hours into the red setting, a shift in work habits and daily routines is playing out on central city streets around New Zealand, causing stress for business owners.

The arrival of Omicron has spurred on the country's Covid-19 vaccine rollout, with the total number of administered booster doses ticking over to one million today, and 100,000 paediatric doses now… Audio

The new infection was reported after 75 isolating close contacts already tested negative - and it comes with people surging to vaccination sites to make the most of paediatric and booster doses.

It has been a milestone day on the country's Covid-19 vaccine calendar with four-month booster bookings open and the first primary school children receiving a paediatric dose.

Doctors and nurses are stocked up and bracing for an influx now that close to half a million tamariki can get a special paediatric dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

As authorities tweak MIQ rules allowing some desperate New Zealanders the chance to come home, fresh IT issues are stopping people in some visa categories from accessing the country.

A Covid-19 modeller warns the red traffic light would do little to stop the rampant spread of Omicron in New Zealand, after case numbers quadrupled in one week in New South Wales.

The Ministry of Health has sent 250,000 tests to sites across the country, yet some in Auckland have told RNZ they've received only a small number or none at all and may have to turn people away.

People planning New Year' Eve celebrations in Auckland are hailing the city's next step towards freedom, just in time to bid goodbye and good riddance to 2021. Audio

Some central North Island regions under the red traffic light are waiting with fingers crossed for a shift to orange today.

The man who murdered police officer Matthew Hunt and tried to kill his partner has been jailed for life - with a minimum non parole period of 27 years.

The man who murdered policeman Matthew Hunt and tried to kill his partner is due to be sentenced this morning.

It's feared checkpoints in Northland could suck up valuable police resources this summer, while failing to stop unvaccinated travellers reaching vulnerable communities. Audio

Travel data suggests a small number of New Zealanders are still taking holidays abroad.

The Chief Ombudsman says some prisoners get better access to fresh air than people staying in MIQ in the Grand Mercure in Wellington.

Police figures indicate more than a four-fold increase in violence and disorder in MIQ hotels this year, compared to last year.

Shelley Grierson is double vaccinated, had has multiple negative tests and was working from home in the UK countryside, but scored too highly on a public health risk assessment to leave her MIQ hotel.

People planning on a city retirement with a few luxuries should have a savings account in the high triple figures, according to a new report from Massey University.