Morning Report for Tuesday 31 March 2020

6:09 AM.People can now buy whiteware, heaters, blankets and devices during the lockdown through online or phone orders that will be delivered in a contactless way.

The Government has eased restrictions… Read more Audio

6:13 AM.A woman whose husband is in government-managed quarantine at a hotel says its treatment of guests is shameful.

Many New Zealanders arriving home who don't live close to airports are being housed at… Read more Audio

6:20 AM.A brief update from the business sector. Read more Audio

6:22 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Read more Audio

6:25 AM.Flights chartered by the German Government to repatriate its citizens stranded in New Zealand have been postponed.

The first flight took off successfully but further flights had to be rescheduled due… Read more Audio

6:38 AM.The Disability Rights Commissioner says she is seriously concerned that community care workers are not getting access to personal protective equipment like face masks.

Two care workers have been… Read more Audio

6:42 AM.Spells of fine weather are luring hundreds of people to local parks, beaches and walking hotspots to get their lockdown breath of fresh air.

While most are happy with the distance provided by others… Read more Audio

6:53 AM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Read more Audio

7:09 AM.New advice to the government shows there could be at least fourteen thousand deaths in New Zealand if the current efforts to control and eradicate Covid-19 fail.

There would be an even greater number… Read more Audio

7:18 AM.Police say they will take a tougher line on people if they don't behave properly in public spaces during the lockdown.

One Aucklander, Rob Lee, says he doesn't have a problem with the way people are… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.A Northland mother with a severely disabled son says confirmation that two disability support workers have caught Covid-19 confirms her worst fears.

She and thousands like her have been asking the… Read more Audio

7:40 AM.The Australian government will spend $130 billion over the next six months to try to keep Australians in work.

The JobKeeper payment will be handed to eligible employers and they'll be required to… Read more Audio

7:44 AM.People can now buy whiteware, heaters and devices during the lockdown through online or phone orders that will be delivered in a contactless way.

The government is easing restrictions slightly to… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.For many essential workers Covid-19 could be one of the biggest battles of their professional lives.

Videos around the world are emerging of people showing their appreciation by clapping on their… Read more Audio

7:50 AM.Radio Sport has been taken off air indefinitely.

NZME - which owns the station - pointed to the cancellation and suspension of virtually all local, national and international events and competitions.

7:56 AM.Pharmac will widen access to at least nine cancer drugs, including keytruda for the treatment of advanced melanoma, to reduce hospital visits and cut the risk of vulnerable patients catching Covid-19.

8:09 AM.Workers looking after disabled people are sewing their own face masks to keep themselves safe from Covid-19, and others are considering not going to work at all until they get the right equipment.

… Read more Audio

8:13 AM.President Donald Trump has said federal coronavirus guidelines such as social distancing will be extended across the US until at least 30 April.

He had previously suggested that they could be relaxed… Read more Audio

8:20 AM.Air New Zealand is facing a drop in revenue of more than $5 billion and so is dramatically reducing its workforce.

The company has had to cut more than 95 percent of its flights in New Zealand and… Read more Audio

8:24 AM.Some employees are refusing to work because they don't believe their jobs are essential.

Among them is a 68-year-old storage worker, who says she's prepared to go without pay for a month in order to… Read more Audio

8:28 AM.Queenstown will have to try to sustain itself on domestic tourism as it looks towards a future with no international tourists arriving.

Otago University epidemiologist Michael Baker says the spread… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Read more Audio

8:35 AM.If you're stuck at home with time on your hands why not learn a new skill or a new language? 

Hemi Kelly is a Māori language lecturer at AUT and created a Facebook group called "A Māori Phrase A Day"… Read more Audio

8:45 AM.Government agencies are working overtime to get wage subsidies to people during lockdown but many are still in the dark over what they are entitled to and when they will get it.

Eva Corlett reports.

8:50 AM.Questions are flooding in to an online emergency business advisory forum set up almost a week ago as a place for expert advice.

Initially questions focused on wage subsidies but now talk is turning… Read more Audio

8:55 AM.City Rail Link in Auckland is giving the public the job of choosing a name for its tunnel boring machine. And it wants it named after an inspirational woman.

Voting has opened and the three… Read more Audio

8:55 AM.A freelance sports commentator in the UK may be out of work - but that doesn't mean he's out of material.

Nick Heath has turned to commenting on daily life in London, from shoppers at a market, to… Read more Audio