It’s been another 24 hours of drastic measures both at home and abroad as nations attempt to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Following the introduction of new travel restrictions over the weekend, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday announced gatherings of more than 500 people are now banned.
It triggered the cancellation of events around the country, although many others had already taken that step. The most high profile cancellations yesterday included Auckland’s Polyfest and Wellington’s Homegrown music festival, while School Sport New Zealand also suspended all events on their national calendar, including the Maadi Cup.
Guidelines for events like weddings and funerals will be revealed later this week.
Schools are still open, however they are currently scrambling to prepare for possible short-term closures. The Ministry of Education is surveying schools over the next couple of days to assess resources for potential online lessons, with guidelines for assemblies and camps also released.
Bigger than the GFC?
As well as introducing bans on large gatherings, Prime Minister Ardern yesterday warned that the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could hurt more than the global financial crisis of 2008.
The Government will today announce a business continuity package to help Kiwis struggling with those economic ramifications, with targeted wage subsidies expected to be introduced.
The Reserve Bank made its own move yesterday to help protect the economy, by cutting the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 0.25 per cent, with the big five banks cutting floating mortgage rates to match.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson will reveal the Government’s multi-billion dollar relief package for businesses at 2pm today – Jack Tame will cover this live on TVNZ 1 and 1NEWS.co.nz.
Massive job losses on cards
Meanwhile, Air New Zealand has revealed thousands of its staff are set to lose their jobs.
After the national airline announced significant capacity reductions across its network yesterday, they also said their staff number of 12,500 would need to be cut by 30 per cent .
Employees are being encouraged to take annual leave, long service leave or leave without pay where possible, so as to minimise the number of redundancies. The E tū union has also started meeting with members to try and save as many jobs as possible.
It’s a similar story right around the world, with other major airlines announcing they’re largely grounding their fleets over the next two months.
Amongst others, British Airways is reducing capacity by 75 per cent, while Virgin Atlantic staff are being asked to take eight weeks of unpaid leave.
Visitors told: Self-isolate or be deported
Deportations are on the cards for any visitors flouting the country’s new self-isolation rules.
Prime Minister Ardern had strong words for travellers choosing not to isolate themselves for 14 days on arrival, saying, “Frankly, you are not welcome.”
She said travellers would be deported if they didn’t comply, adding that anyone who is deported has a high chance of being refused future visa applications both in New Zealand and overseas.
And microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles has a message for anybody still grumbling about the new travel restrictions, telling RNZ they are “exactly what we need right now”.
"The countries that are controlling this are making really tough decisions, they're making it early and they are keeping the virus either down or out,” she said. “Those that are taking a rather different approach are seeing this exponential spread of the virus that is overwhelming their ability to take care of sick people, and people are dying.”
Global coronavirus battle
Other countries hoping to contain the spread of coronavirus have announced new measures overnight. The main developments are:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has held the first of his now daily Covid-19 updates. He’s asked the British public to avoid pubs and limit any movement and contact with others – a stark contrast to the country’s previous coronavirus response.
The European Union's top official has proposed a 30-day ban on anyone entering the bloc unless their travel is essential.
Germany has partially closed its borders , with new restrictions imposed on France, Austria and Switzerland.
And the US is nearing national shutdown , with officials closing bars, restaurants and schools around the country.
Vineyard devastated by incorrect label
Imagine having 10 years of hard work wiped out in a single day. That’s the situation Trish and Trevor Bunting found themselves in after the 10,500 healthy vines on their vineyard were wiped out by a herbicide that had been labelled incorrectly.
Here, Fair Go shares their story – and the stress and frustration of their six-year battle for compensation.
Other news of note this morning:
Pharmac has warned further disruptions to medicine supplies are inevitable, in the wake of Covid-19.
Lawyers acting for Tauranga City Council have opened their case , two years after 21 properties were evacuated from the botched Bella Vista subdivision in the Bay of Plenty.
After Auckland’s problems with wipes being flushed, Queenstown is now facing issues with a large spike in the number of wet wipes being flushed down the district’s toilets. (Stop flushing your wipes, New Zealand.)
And how hard is it to get people to wash their hands during the coronavirus pandemic? Apparently, very .
And finally…
It’s a struggle to believe this even needs explaining, but it seems many New Zealanders were confused when Jacinda Ardern suggested citizens break out an East Coast wave instead of a handshake over the weekend, so as to avoid transmitting Covid-19.
The Prime Minister and her sign language interpreter helpfully demonstrated the East Coast wave at a press conference yesterday, which you can see here . (The interpreter’s East Coast wave was the superior of the two.)
And you have to admit, it’s a heck of a lot cooler than this elbow bump Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders broke out at their debate yesterday.
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