As Covid-19 spreads around the world, it can be daunting keeping up with the information. For RNZ, our responsibility is to give you verified, up to the minute, trustworthy information to help you make decisions about your lives and your health. We'll also be asking questions of officials and decision makers about how they're responding to the virus. Our aim is to keep you informed.
As our international border closes tonight, New Zealanders are being told to prepare but not to panic, after confirmation of eight new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, bringing the total to 28.
Flights were cancelled, Jacinda Ardern announced the borders would close, Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced more coronavirus cases and the dollar was in freefall today. Photo: RNZ / 123RF
Underlining the seriousness of the threat now posed by the Covid-19 outbreak, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the national border would be closed to anyone not a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident from 11.59pm tonight.
Earlier she advised New Zealanders to prepare for the full effects of the Covid-19 coronavirus, but urged the public not to act on rumours and misinformation.
"We are in a very heightened state as a nation, and so is the world... The last thing we want is for that anxiety to be based on misinformation."
- If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs)
Speaking in Rotorua, she said New Zealanders needed to take social distancing "really seriously" and to put their trust in health authorities and not social media posts. She urged against panic buying.
Today, Countdown announced it was introducing limits on some items to stop panic buying. It is putting limits of two items per customer on products such as packs of toilet rolls, hand sanitiser, personal wash, Panadol, wipes, pasta and rice.
Airport protocols 'loose'
Ardern's comments came after a Kiwi who arrived back from Thailand this week said measures at Auckland Airport were "loose" and that she had felt safer in southeast Asia.
Auckland woman Maree Glading said she left the airport with no information on Covid-19 or self-isolating for 14 days, now a requirement of most people arriving in New Zealand.
"There was no, 'do you understand what isolation is? Are you prepared to isolate for 14 days?' There was nothing like that - no temperature checks, no hand sanitiser," she said.
She said the customs officer who checked her passport casually said, "Are you well?" before letting her pass through.
Ban on indoor gatherings of 100-plus
The government announced a ban on indoor gatherings of more than 100 people to help stop the spread of Covid-19.
It follows the prime minister's announcement on Monday that indoor and outdoor gatherings of 500 people or more should be cancelled.
Health Minister David Clark said: "Large gatherings and events are a high-risk environment for the spread of infectious diseases like Covid-19, because people often behave in ways that facilitate transmission at these events.
"People share food or drinks, sit or stand very close together for long periods of time and may cough or breathe on each other."
Clark said the government was guiding the hospitality sector through the implications for them and also said the government understood how the cancellation of weddings, funerals and other significant social gatherings would be upsetting to people.
Read more about the Covid-19 coronavirus:
- Key details and developments from Wednesday
- Kiwi backpacker races border closures to get home
- Self isolation - your questions answered
- Touching your Face: Why do we do it and how to stop
- Coronavirus: Answers to the top five questions
- Scientific hand-washing advice to avoid infection
- More Covid-19 news
Womad calms festival-goers' anxiety
Womad New Zealand said it has been in contact with health officials and there has been no confirmed case of Covid-19 among fans at last weekend's festival.
Festival organisers took to Womad New Zealand's Facebook page to quell anxiety someone infected with Covid-19 had been at the event attended by up to 17,000 at Brooklands Park in New Plymouth.
"We've had a few enquiries regarding a potential Covid-19 case at Womad NZ 2020," organisers said. "We've been on the phone with Health officials who have confirmed there has been no cases of people who have attended the festival and that the Womad festival management will be notified immediately if a case were to arise."
New Zealand dollar in freefall
Photo: 123RF
The New Zealand dollar fell more than two-and-a-half cents against the US dollar to a low of 54.7 cents, as it joined the Australian dollar in freefall.
It was also down against most other major currencies, including the pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen, and falling to an 11-year-low as it was caught up in the global selloff by investors seeking safety.
The kiwi has fallen 12 percent in the past couple of weeks. The Aussie dollar fell the most in a decade to touch an 18-year-low against the US dollar, which explains why the kiwi and Aussie dollars have been trading close to parity in recent days.
School given all clear
All 150 students at Logan Park High School have tested negative for Covid-19. Pupils from the Dunedin school were all close contacts of the 12th case, a teenager at the school.
The Ministry of Health said as a precaution, all of the contacts will remain in isolation for 14 days and monitored for symptoms. The school will reopen on Tuesday after a thorough cleaning.
Tourism meeting and aviation package.
The dire economic future of Queenstown businesses reliant on the tourism industry was on the agenda at a meeting between operators and government ministers today.
Queenstown Lakes District mayor Jim Boult says Covid-19 is bringing massive challenges for the district. Photo: Supplied / Queenstown Lakes District Council
Queenstown Lakes District mayor Jim Boult led a meeting of local tourism businesses and the Minister of Tourism, Kelvin Davis, and the Minister for Economic Development, Phil Twyford.
The ministers released details of a $600 million relief package to help the country's aviation industry ahead of the meeting.
Twyford said it was a very sobering time, not only for Queenstown, but for the entire tourism industry.
"We didn't sugarcoat the economic situation for Queenstown, the district and the tourism industry but neither did the businesses and leaders we just spent the last hour and a half with sugarcoat what they're going through for us.''
