Morning Report for Tuesday 21 April 2020

6:08 AM.There are growing indications that President Donald Trump is making plans to advance the argument that China is to blame for the Covid-19 pandemic that has brought devastation to the American economy.

6:14 AM.Italy has recorded its first fall in infection rates since the pandemic began - but its death toll is still edging up with 454 deaths on Monday.

The country has now recorded almost 180,000 cases and… 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

6:39 AM.Opposition leader Simon Bridges says the Government's decision to extend lockdown shows it hasn't done the groundwork required to have the country ready.

The national lockdown has been extended until… Read more Audio

6:41 AM.Early childhood services want more evidence it will be safe to reopen next week and some are likely to remain closed.

The government says schools and early learning centres will open on 29 April for… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.It is now known 19 people have been been killed by a gunman in Nova Scotia in Canada who disguised himself as a police officer.

It's Canada's deadliest mass shooting.

The Canadian police have found… Read more Audio

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

7:09 AM.The epidemiologist who audited the country's contact tracing system says New Zealand was not ready for a pandemic like Covid-19.

Ayesha Verrall from the University of Otago found the tracing system… Read more Audio

7:15 AM.RNZ reporters were out and about - carefully - to see what the public thought of the decision to continue on level four lockdown until after the upcoming holiday weekend.

Most thought the right call… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.Front-line doctors and nurses who braced for the worst under Covid-19 are relieved the government is staying cautious.

They say New Zealand is in a great position to eliminate the disease - if people… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.New Zealand's Alert Level 4 lockdown has been extended for a little over a week, ending just before midnight on Monday 27 April.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Morning Report the extension was… Read more Audio

7:38 AM.National's deputy leader Paula Bennett says her name has been cleared by the courts after - what she calls - a fishing expedition by Winston Peters for his own political purposes.

Peters - the deputy… Read more Audio

7:42 AM.This time next week New Zealand will have moved down to Covid-19 Alert Level 3.

The level four lockdown has cost both businesses and their staff lost income. Will the slight easing of the ban on… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.University of Otago public health professor Michael Baker says he's "reassured" by the Government's work to eliminate Covid-19.

He told Morning Report on the whole he's happy with the government's… Read more Audio

7:56 AM.Some of the country's top scientists say New Zealand cannot afford to wait on other countries to develop a Covid-19 vaccine.

Estimates suggest it will take at least a year before international doses… Read more Audio

8:08 AM.New Zealanders seem to largely be accepting the government's decision to move to level 3 next week - almost a week later than originally hoped for.

People are in no doubt the delay is a good… Read more Audio

8:23 AM.Early childhood services say they expect many centres will stay closed next week, even though they'll be allowed to be open under Alert Level 3.

The government says schools and early learning centres… Read more Audio

8:27 AM.Māori leaders are backing the government plans to extend level four a bit longer.

But there are fears that even three more weeks of heightened restrictions will spell the end for some Māori… Read more Audio

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

8:36 AM.The forestry industry is preparing to ramp up work next week as the country moves from out of Alert Level 4.

While deemed non-essential up till now, it will be allowed to operate when the country… Read more Audio

8:37 AM.Iwi in the Far North have joined forces to declare they don't want their region to move into Alert Level 3 next week.

They say the clear message they've received from communities is that people won't… Read more Audio

8:45 AM.Freight companies are confident trade logistics and supply chains will operate effectively and efficiently once the Covid-19 alert drops to level three next week.

Alert Level 3 takes effect at… Read more Audio

8:50 AM.Wellington's Mayor is looking to get a series of city-wide events up and running as soon as it is safe to do so, to help the capital's coffee culture survive, along with its bars and restaurants and… Read more Audio

8:54 AM.Some gym goers are still paying their membership rates in an effort to help businesses through the pandemic.

Gyms shut their doors under lockdown and will likely remain closed when the country moves… Read more Audio

8:58 AM.We've been talking to people about how they're handling life in isolation.

Actor Robyn Malcolm was supposed to have a new movie come out during lockdown, comedy This Town, but that's been put on hold… Read more Audio