Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will this morning reveal her decision about whether to delay September’s election following the recent resurgence of Covid-19 in the community.
Ms Ardern’s office says she’s spoken to all the political parties represented in Parliament to seek their views on the election date.
National , NZ First and Act have all publicly called for a delay, saying it’s not currently possible to hold a fair election on September 19 with advance voting just a couple of weeks away.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins has told TVNZ’s Q+A an election could safely be held under Alert Level 2 and that the Electoral Commission has planned for such a scenario .
Ms Ardern is due to announce election date details at 10am. The decision will be broadcast live on TVNZ 1 and at 1NEWS.co.nz.
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Minister slams outbreak rumours
Health Minister Chris Hipkins has criticised the spreading of online rumours about the family at the centre of New Zealand’s latest Covid-19 outbreak.
He says the falsehoods are “orchestrated” and “deliberately designed to create panic, fear and confusion”.
Mr Hipkins says the persistent claim that a young woman from the Auckland cluster contracted the virus by sneaking into a managed isolation facility has been particularly distressing for the family involved. He says the allegations have been investigated and found to be “completely false”.
Mr Hipkins says New Zealanders need to think twice about what they see online before choosing to share unverified information.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has also slammed the online abuse of Kiwis with Covid-19. He says there’s no “blame or shame” in having the virus .
"People who we know have tested positive to Covid-19 are to be commended,” he says. “They have done their bit to protect the team of five million, and their quick action in coming forward to be tested and then going into isolation is indeed to be encouraged and commended."
Testing blitz continues
The Government confirmed 13 new cases of Covid-19 yesterday, with 12 of those in the community and linked to the Auckland cluster. One of the new cases includes a student from AUT .
Three people are currently receiving hospital treatment for the virus.
Chris Hipkins has warned of potential delays in processing Covid-19 tests amid spiking testing volumes, with the usual 24-hour turnaround extending out to 48 hours in some cases. More than 23,600 tests were carried out on Saturday.
Scientists are also using genome sequencing to trace the origins of the virus strain picked up by the Auckland cluster.
They say they haven’t yet found a match to New Zealand’s quarantine hotels but are now investigating if cold storage may have played a role in the latest outbreak.
Aucklanders get rules refresher
Aucklanders are being reminded to stay home and stay local after the weekend’s sunny weather saw an influx of people at beaches and playgrounds. Others opted for a quick day trip to Waiheke Island, which concerned residents there .
Mayor Phil Goff has reiterated Level 3’s rules, saying playgrounds shouldn’t be used and visits should only be made to local beaches.
Meanwhile, an Otago University psychiatrist says the second lockdown has seen a rise in stress, fatigue and cynicism .
Chris Dale told TVNZ’s Q+A that if three-quarters of Kiwis practiced the social distancing measures this time around, “you can take that as a win”.
No doubt adding to the stress and fatigue for many Aucklanders will be another week of home learning for their children.
The Ministry of Education’s Home Learning TV / Papa Kāinga TV will be returning to TVNZ this week to offer learning support until August 28.
National’s border policy nigh
Judith Collins announced National will be releasing its border policy this week, following questioning on TVNZ’s Q+A over what the party would do differently if it were in government.
Ms Collins says National would have “a far more competent system” and “would make sure it would work”.
She wouldn’t go into specifics on Q+A but says it will be a “comprehensive” policy.
Other news of note this morning:
Support is being given to Kiwis unable to get flights home to the regions after they complete their 14-day quarantine in Auckland.
Ruapehu iwi Ngāti Rangi is calling for a region-wide lockdown after one of the country’s positive Covid-19 cases was found to have visited a local ski field .
Stuff reports Te Papa has been defrauded of $120,000 over more than a year.
South Korea has reported their highest daily jump in Covid-19 cases since early March, as fears grow about a massive outbreak of the virus there.
US President Donald Trump's younger brother, Robert Trump, has died after being hospitalised in New York.
And Lotto NZ is blaming MyLotto online upgrades for "poor customer experiences" that left frustrated punters unable to check their tickets for nearly 24 hours.
And finally...
A week is a long time in politics – and in a pandemic.
TVNZ’s Sunday programme was due to have exclusive access to Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins last week as both party leaders embarked on their election campaigns. Those plans, of course, got turned upside down with the resurgence of Covid-19 in the community.
But you can still track Ms Ardern’s tumultuous week here , and you can watch Ms Collins go from the highs of the campaign trail to the lows of political limbo here .
There’s even time for a little pre-Covid outbreak cooking, where we learn the secret to Ms Collins’ “world-famous” cheesecake. (Spoiler alert: It involves hard liquor.)
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