Covid 19
Online job board helps weddings go without a hitch in pandemic
It's a nightmare scenario for a couple just before their wedding day: the photographer, the makeup artist or the celebrant tests positive for Covid and there's a mad scramble to find a replacement.
… Video, Audio
Auckland hospital intensive care doctor on Covid situation
There's 930 people in hospital with Covid today; 23 of them in ICU or a high dependency unit.
And the death curve is steepening, 10 reported today, bringing the total number of Covid related deaths… Video, Audio
Evening business for Thursday 17 March 2022
News from the business sector, including a market report. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6300929836001 Video, Audio
Counties Manukau DHB predicts ‘increased risk of severe illness’ due to influenza
With the annual flu season almost upon us, a number of south Auckland healthcare providers are worried about the impact it could have after two years of closed borders and reduced immunity levels.
Cruise sector boss assures ships safer than before
The welcome mat's out for tourists but not if they are arriving by cruise ship.
Vaccinated Australian visitors can fly to New Zealand from April 13 without having to isolate. It's May 2 for visa… Video, Audio
Glaciers area looks forward to border reopening
South Westland businesses say the border reopening dates mean they can start edging out of survival mode after two years of hanging on by their fingernails.
Close to 400 jobs were lost in the area… Audio
Omicron: Auckland hospitals missing nearly a quarter of staff some days
Auckland's hospitals have been missing up to a quarter of their staff some days during the Covid outbreak.
After weeks of stories of stresses from the shop floor because of doctor and nurse… Audio
The BA.2 Omicron subvariant: What you need to know
Earlier this week the Director General of Health said nearly 80 percent of sequenced Covid-19 cases are BA.2. What impact will it have on the current outbreak and will a new vaccine be necessary?
Five wards at Middlemore dedicated to Covid-19 patients
Five wards at Middlemore Hospital are now dedicated to Covid-19 patients, with one-third of hospital admissions clearly because of Covid. Watch the latest update from Auckland health authorities here.
Covid-19 update: 10 deaths, 930 in hospital, 19,566 new cases
Ten deaths - including a person in their 30s - have been reported in today's Ministry of Health statistics, along with 19,566 new cases.
Covid-19: Families skipping funerals during outbreak
Grieving families are being urged to embrace the ritual power of a funeral after Covid-19 lockdowns denied many people in-person goodbyes.
Covid-19 immunity level tests to go on sale at pharmacies
New Zealanders wanting to know how protected they are against Covid-19 infection could soon be able to have their immunity levels measured at their local pharmacy. Audio
Covid-19: Bloomfield expecting Auckland hospitalisations to decline
The Director-General of Health says Auckland's hospital cases have likely peaked, but he thinks the hospitalisation number will creep above 1000 as the rest of the country catches up. Audio
Covid-19: Families skipping funerals during outbreak
Grieving families are being urged to resurrect the ritual power of a funeral after Covid-19 lockdowns denied in-person goodbyes.
While some mourners are now holding memorial services, there's also a… Audio
Covid-19 modeller advises extending testing regime to identify new variants at border
A Covid-19 modeller says we should be "sequencing pretty much anything that comes through the border", as reopening to the world nears. Audio
Covid-19: Bloomfield expecting Auckland hospitalisations to decline
Nurses are being paid $500 per night to work an evening shift as the staffing crisis around the health sector continues under Omicron.
Hospitalisations and deaths associated with the Covid-19… Audio
Covid-19: Better testing needed as border opens - modeller
A Covid-19 modeller says the impending reopening of the country's borders has increased the need for better testing for Covid, to guard against new variants.
Auckland University's Dr David Welch… Audio
Covid-19: Air NZ adding extra flights to border
The airline industry is buzzing with excitement as New Zealand prepares to open up its borders.
Air New Zealand has added more than 90 new Trans-Tasman flights to keep up with demand over Easter.
… Audio
Covid-19: Government announces fund for South Island tourism coming out of hibernation
The government is announcing this morning the opening of a fund to reboot South Island tourism operations hurt by travel restrictions.
It comes as borders are set to re-open to the world in a matter… Audio
Covid-19: Schools given access to RATs
Schools, kura and early learning centres are being given Rapid Antigen Tests, or RATs, to improve access to the widely used tests.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins says it's being done to keep… Audio
