Morning Report for Tuesday 16 February 2021

6:06 AM.World tennis number-one Ash Barty is through to the Australian Open quarter-finals for the third straight year after beating American Shelby Rogers in straight sets. Read more Audio

6:08 AM.Results of Covid-19 testing in the community due back on Tuesday will provide a clearer picture on whether Auckland can leave Alert Level 3 at midnight on Wednesday.

Cabinet will meet again on… Read more Audio

6:11 AM.Due to the three-day lockdown, 11 checkpoints are up and running this morning on the outskirts of Auckland.

Police are stopping vehicles and questioning drivers, ensuring there is no non-essential… Read more Audio

6:13 AM.Auckland principals are confident this week's lockdown will have little impact on children's learning - so long as it is only for three days.

They say some of Auckland's 250,000 school students will… Read more Audio

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

6:25 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Audio

6:37 AM.Auckland is continuing to ramp up its testing as the city enters its second day of the latest Covid-19 lockdown.

An extra testing centre has been opened on Botany Road in Golflands, and another will… Read more Audio

6:40 AM.Confusion reigned in Northland yesterday when Kaipara residents found themselves in an alert level grey area.

Police checkpoints were enforced north of Mangawhai, Kaiwaka and Oneriri - but it wasn't… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.The mother of two boys killed in a truck smash has poured cold water on the workplace safety regulator's pledge to hold unsafe businesses to account saying it is ill-equipped to do so.

Mohy Sharifi's… Read more Audio

7:06 AM.Ash Barty has moved a step closer to becoming the first local player in 43-years to win the Australian tennis open. Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Clinicians are wading through a flood of Covid-19 tests, in the hope that Auckland can escape Alert Level 3 on Wednesday night.

Testing centres have been swamped - close to 4000 community swabs were… Read more Audio

7:13 AM.The union representing the Sky Chefs worker who tested positive for Covid-19 says the woman followed all the rules to protect herself while on the job.

Meanwhile, thousands more workers near the… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.Authorities say the latest test results following the Valentine's Day Covid-19 outbreak are encouraging, but caution the next few days will be crucial.

A surge in testing has yet to discover any… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.Auckland is continuing to ramp up its testing as the city enters its second day of the latest Covid-19 lockdown.

An extra testing centre has been opened on Botany Road in Golflands, and another will… Read more Audio

7:27 AM.Due to the three-day lockdown, 11 checkpoints are up and running this morning on the outskirts of Auckland.

Police are stopping vehicles and questioning drivers, ensuring there is no non-essential… Read more Audio

7:29 AM.Truck drivers are being left waiting for hours in "dedicated" truck lanes at Auckland border checkpoints.

The lanes have been designed to let through freight companies, but queues stretched back more… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.A New Zealand woman identified as an Islamic State terrorist has been detained at the border while attempting to travel from Syria into Turkey.

In a tweet, Turkey's Ministry of National Defence said… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.A transport industry group and a drivers' lobby group say the WorkSafe is not up to investigating bad road crashes.

New information about an investigation into a truck crash that killed two children… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.Frontline border workers are expected to receive their first vaccinations this weekend.

The first batch of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine arrived in the country yesterday - enough to vaccinate 30,000… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.Papatoetoe High School remains closed today as staff, students and visitors get tested.

Health authorities hope to test 2000 to 3000 people at the school, including most of the school's 1500… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal says he's as motivated as ever to win grand slams after taking step closer to a record 21st major title. Read more Audio

8:08 AM.Results of Covid-19 testing in the community due back today, will provide a clearer picture on whether Auckland can leave alert level three tomorrow at midnight.

Cabinet will meet again today, as it… Read more Audio

8:13 AM.Eleven checkpoints are up and running this morning on the outskirts of Auckland.

Police are stopping vehicles and questioning drivers, ensuring there is no non-essential movement through the region.

8:15 AM.Te Tai Tokerau Border Control says the checkpoints they set up to protect Māori should never have been closed down. 

Community-managed checkpoints were set up in Northland three weeks ago in an… Read more Audio

8:23 AM.A company that creates Covid-19 saliva tests says the tests are just as accurate - if not more - than nasal swabs.

Rako Science is providing saliva tests for Auckland Airport and Air New Zealand… Read more Audio

8:28 AM.Wastewater testing is being done by ESR in South Auckland and Taranaki to see whether the virus has spread further.

Testing as recent as 10 February found no signs of Covid-19 in the water.

Brett… Read more Audio

8:33 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:40 AM.A New Zealand woman and two children have been captured at the border between Syria and Turkey for connections with the Islamic State.

Turkey's Ministry of National Defence tweeted that the three New… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.Moves to improve the fractured enforcement of road safety have been delayed for more than a year.

The Government's aim to fix a confusing overlap between the Waka Kotahi - the NZ Transport Agency… Read more Audio

8:49 AM.A medical professional staying in a Wellington MIQ facility is warning the strong airflow between hotel rooms is a Covid-19 super-spreader risk waiting to happen.

The returnee, who wishes to remain… Read more Audio