Morning Report for Wednesday 23 March 2022

8:57 AM.Samoa is in lockdown for at least another two weeks as authorities attempt to bring a runaway Omicron virus to heel.

The island nation had 262 Covid-19 cases as of yesterday, after becoming one of… Read more Audio

8:51 AM.Police officers under investigation for fatal shootings have been allowed to view evidence before being questioned by detectives.

Police say this policy has now changed, but the Independent Police… Read more Audio

8:46 AM.As Omicron rages in New Zealand, attention is turning to a possible fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose.

The Director-General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, has asked for advice on how helpful an additional… Read more Audio

8:39 AM.The Prime Minister will announce this afternoon the future of vaccine mandates.

This comes as New Zealand borders are set to reopen in less than a month.

Some health professionals worry that… Read more Audio

8:28 AM.Covid-19 deaths and hospitalisations remain low in Te Wai Pounamu as the Omicron wave washes through the south.

Experts say it's still too early to celebrate with cases on the rise.

Timothy Brown… Read more Audio

8:21 AM.A state of emergency has been declared for the entire Gisborne Tairāwhiti region, large parts of which have been swamped by torrential rain. 

Homes have been evacuated, many households have lost… Read more Audio

8:17 AM.The helicopter pilot who flew the chopper that pulled five people out of the water off North Cape says they were the most challenging rescues of his 30-year career. 

Five people of the 10 on board… Read more Audio

8:12 AM.Tolaga Bay has been hit by flooding after heavy rain overnight.

Tolaga Bay Deputy Civil Defence Officer Nori Paratais also the principal of Tolaga bay area school. Read more Audio

8:10 AM.There have been evacuations and rescues in the East Cape which has been hit by a deluge overnight - and there is more rain to come.

Hamish Cardwell spoke to Corin Dann. Read more Audio

7:57 AM.Some orchardists say Covid-19 is running rampant through their harvest fields.

It's peak apple time across the country, but Omicron's not showing any signs of slowing down in the busy harvest regions… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.The Omicron outbreak's being described as a Mexican wave surging out from Auckland and into the rest of the country.

Cases are on the rise south of the Bombays, and there's a reminder the outbreak is… Read more Audio

7:45 AM.The Leader of the Opposition says cutting the isolation period from seven days to five would be in line with advice from America's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC.

One health expert… Read more Audio

7:39 AM.The future of the country's Covid-19 restrictions will be revealed by the Prime Minister today.

This comes as latest figures indicate the current Covid-19 outbreak is past its peak in Auckland and is… Read more Audio

7:29 AM.In Ukraine, a defiant President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country is on the brink of surviving the Russian invasion, almost four weeks after it began.

His optimism, in an address to the Italian… Read more Audio

7:21 AM.Police officers involved in fatal shootings have been allowed to view evidence before being questioned by detectives conducting homicide inquiries into the killings.

Police say they have now changed… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.Investigators are scouring the waters of the Far North for evidence in the fishing boat tragedy which resulted in five deaths.

Ten people were on board the Enchanter when it capsized off North Cape… Read more Audio

7:14 AM.A man in Ruatoria had to scoop up his family in a tractor as flood waters rose rapidly into their house.

The whānau from Makarika Valley in Ruatoria near the Mata river had water up to their thighs… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.There has been severe flooding in the Tolaga Bay and Tokomaru Bay on the East coast.

Civil Defence teams went door to door to evacuate some areas as flood waters threatened the area.

Gisborne's… Read more Audio

6:50 AM.Health authorities are ramping up efforts to boost the country's faltering childhood immunisation programme.

Rates have been on the decline since 2017 and have taken a further hit during the… Read more Audio

6:46 AM.The battle for control of the port city of Mariupol continues in Ukraine.

Ninety percent of the buildings in the city have now been damaged and in the last few hours Ukraine says Russian forces have… Read more Audio

6:42 AM.Tairāwhiti Civil Defence is asking people to check for updates for weather and road conditions.

It says a lot of rain is due over the next 24 hours, and conditions are not improving. Emergency… Read more Audio

6:39 AM.On the North Island's East Coast there has been severe flooding in Tolaga Bay and Tokomaru Bay.

Reporter Hamish Cardwell has the details. Read more Audio

6:17 AM.The Bay of Plenty has been lashed with heavy rain east of Whakatāne.

More than 200 millimetres of rain is expected to make landfall across the Bay of Plenty today.

MetService has warned this could… Read more Audio

6:08 AM.Civil Defence teams went door to door through a Tairawhiti settlement last night asking residents to leave as flood waters threatened the area.

Mangatuna,a small settlement an hour north of Gisborne… Read more Audio