Checkpoint for Thursday 21 October 2021

5:08 PM.A Palmerston North woman is pleading for a one-way compassionate exemption to cross the Auckland border to see her terminally ill nephew in his final days.

Andrew Spier, 36, is dying from bowel… Read more Audio

5:18 PM.Daily Covid numbers have hit triple figures today, with 102 cases recorded in the community.

94 of them are in Auckland and eight in Waikato. 40 of today's cases are so far unlinked.

Deputy Prime… Read more Video, Audio

5:22 PM.Suspected anti-vaxxers have been making bogus vaccination bookings in one of the most unprotected areas of the country.

They've been targeting Tairāwhiti, where only 74 percent of people have had at… Read more Audio

5:26 PM.New Zealand's secured an historic free-trade agreement with the United Kingdom that will eventually eliminate all tariffs on New Zealand exports.

Industry leaders have welcomed the agreement, saying… Read more Audio

5:35 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6278105711001 Video, Audio

5:38 PM.A group of lucky businesses have been chosen for a government trial that will see them by pass MIQ and isolate at home when returning from overseas travel.

605 businesses applied for just 150 places… Read more Video, Audio

5:41 PM.People who have waited patiently - and often painfully - for weeks in lockdown are finally able to access face to face care from dentists, physios and other allied health professionals.

The… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.With the country recording triple figure cases for the first time since Covid arrived in New Zealand, the focus is going on how the health system will cope with Delta firmly entrenched in the… Read more Audio

5:50 PM.A growing number of workplaces are considering bringing in Covid vaccine mandates. The Warehouse Group has begun consulting with staff about a directive for staff to be vaccinated.

Victoria… Read more Video, Audio

5:55 PM.Beating misinformation could hold the key to lifting the lagging Māori vaccination rate in the greater Manawatū region.

Regional councillor and Rangitāne iwi kaumātua Wiremu Te Awe Awe says some… Read more Audio

6:08 PM.Aucklanders may not be able to go anywhere at the moment, but sprinklers are back, and so is a long hot shower, with water restrictions being lifted this weekend.

Tighter rules for water use were put… Read more Audio

6:12 PM.More than three months after severe flooding in Westport damaged hundreds of homes, many residents are left wondering when and if they will be able to return.

It exposed a town grappling with poverty… Read more Video, Audio

6:17 PM.A homeless advocate hopes health authorities listen to those on the frontline about the best way to reach at-risk communities for vaccination.

In April, Te Tuinga Whānau Trust's Tommy Kapai Wilson… Read more Audio

6:26 PM.Covid put a dampener on much of the usual pomp and ceremony for the swearing in of the new Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro at Parliament today.

Absent this time, the hundreds-strong greeting line… Read more Video, Audio