With a week to go until schools reopen under Covid-19 Alert Level 3, a petition urging schools and early childhood education (ECE) centres to stay closed is nearing 37,000 signatures.
The petition created by ECE teacher Hannah Swinkels says early childhood educators can’t do their job without physical contact with children and that children “cannot distance one metre from each other”.
Meanwhile, New Zealand Principals’ Federation President Perry Rush says although reopening schools in the Level 3 climate won't be easy, schools are up for the challenge.
He also says it’s “really unfortunate” that some teachers feel they’re merely being used as babysitters.
"I think principals and teachers have a job. The job is to help this country get back on its feet. I think that's a really important job,” he says.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins says the approach to reopening schools and ECE centres is based on the “latest public health advice”.
A working paper released by the Government yesterday says current modelling suggests a 2 - 4 per cent reduction in Covid-19 as a result of school closures.
Mr Hipkins says New Zealand has reached the point where the Director-General of Health is confident there’s no widespread undetected community transmission of the virus, “so the chance of it coming through the [school] door or through the gate in the first place is low”.
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Small businesses ‘sacrificial lambs’
Many businesses around the country are also racing to reopen under Level 3 and it can’t come soon enough for many, given banks have lent more than $6.3 billion to businesses since the lockdown began.
At a special select committee yesterday, the National Party referred to small businesses as “sacrificial lambs” during lockdown, with Small Business Minister Stuart Nash unable to provide them with estimates around how many were likely to go out of business.
National leader Simon Bridges also lambasted the wage subsidy scheme yesterday, saying it “doesn’t cut it” in supporting struggling small businesses.
More than $10 billion has now been paid in wage subsidies, with some questions this week over what happens if a business folds after claiming that money.
The Ministry of Social Development has since confirmed workers won’t have to give the money back , however they say businesses must notify any change in circumstances, with decisions on recovering payments from employers decided on a case-by-case basis.
More than 1000 complaints about potential wage subsidy law breaches have been received so far.
Fuel sales plummet
Meanwhile, a drop in fuel sales during lockdown could translate to a $250 million fall in revenue for the Government from fuel taxes.
Z Energy, for example, reports sales are down 80 per cent. With about a dollar of every litre of regular petrol sold going on to the Government, Z Energy’s CEO told 1 NEWS the shortfall from their company alone would be around $80-$100 million a month.
With countries in lockdown and cars off roads right around the world, there’s been little demand for fuel, while storage facilities are full to the brim.
And oil prices continue to slide, with Brent Crude slipping below $20 a barrel this morning.
US oil futures fell below zero yesterday, but have since bounced back – but not before some consumers wondered if they might get paid to fill up their petrol tanks. Here, CNN explains why that won’t happen, despite the historic declines in oil prices.
Kiwi’s death linked to virus
As the country learned an Auckland woman in her 70s had died of Covid-19 yesterday, news also broke that a Kiwi man had died in Peru from the virus.
Edward Storey had been walking the popular Inca trail prior to the outbreak and planned to fly home on a government charter flight.
When he failed to board the flight, authorities in Peru found his body a few days later and determined he was a victim of Covid-19 .
Mr Storey’s mother says his death serves as a reminder that anybody can fall ill from the virus and that lockdown measures should be followed.
New Zealand’s total number of Covid-19 cases increased by five yesterday, with testing continuing in the community. The Ministry of Health says they’re also focusing on testing in Māori and Pacific communities this week.
Moving Day gets green light
In positive news for the dairy industry, Moving Day is set to go ahead as planned on June 1.
The annual event sees hundreds of dairy farming families, sharemilkers and livestock moving around the country to start work on new farms, however strict controls will be put in place this year to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the Government was committed to finding a way for the move to go ahead, given the industry’s essential role.
Other news of note this morning:
Human trials on a potential Covid-19 vaccine will begin in the UK this week.
The coronavirus outbreak has prompted talk of bringing back the Ministry of Works to once again provide people with jobs and build the nation’s infrastructure.
Iwi in the Far North have joined forces to say they don’t want their region to move out of Level 4 lockdown next week.
The Auditor-General has agreed to investigate the way the Ministry of Health has handled PPE during the Covid-19 crisis, while police follow up on the theft of PPE equipment from a Covid-19 testing station in Rangiora.
Winston Peters has been urged to reimburse the public after his privacy lawsuit was thrown out of court this week.
Five people have been arrested after police received a report of illegal hunting in the Waitomo area last night.
And a Wellington woman says she’s disgusted and horrified after finding a piece of chewed gum stuck to her package from Kmart.
And finally...
If you’re running out of ideas for keeping entertained during this final week of the Level 4 lockdown, we have a couple of options for you.
Park ranger Bill Napier (who looks very much like actor Rhys Darby) has a new YouTube show for the Covid-19 era.
Or you can watch comedian Johanna Cosgrove commit several kitchen crimes while making a two-ingredient flat bread. (Because if there’s one thing we haven’t had enough of during this Covid crisis, it’s people attempting to make their own bread.)
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