There is intense security in place in Christchurch this morning ahead of the sentencing of New Zealand’s worst mass murderer, Brenton Tarrant.
He arrived back in Christchurch on a special Air Force flight yesterday afternoon, 17 months after his hate-fuelled rampage left 51 people dead and 40 others seriously injured at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques.
More than 60 of Tarrant’s victims and those bereaved by his crimes are preparing to face him in court for the first time . His sentencing is expected to last for most of the week as the court hears numerous victim impact statements.
Tarrant has opted to represent himself at the hearing, which has legal experts worried he may use the opportunity to further spread his views.
Justice Cameron Mander has banned live reporting at the sentencing so he can decide what is and isn’t publishable at the end of each session.
If Justice Mander sentences Tarrant to life without parole, he will become the first criminal in New Zealand's history to receive that term.
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Lockdown decision due
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will today reveal if Auckland is remaining at Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country at Alert Level 2 beyond Wednesday.
The decision comes as New Zealand recorded just one community case of Covid-19 yesterday.
The Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) is urging the Government to move Auckland to Level 2, however one of New Zealand's leading epidemiologists wants Auckland to remain at Level 3 until the current cluster has run its course.
Professor Michael Baker says it would be preferable to see a week of one or zero cases to be certain the new outbreak has been brought to a halt.
Covid-19 data modelling expert Professor Shaun Hendy has also urged caution , saying “there's still a reasonable chance of undetected transmission”.
Meanwhile, health authorities are still tracking down potential contacts of two people who took 10 Auckland bus trips before testing positive for Covid-19. The details of those bus trips can be found here .
Stuff reports caution is still high in Tokoroa, too, following the town’s three cases of the virus. There are reports school attendance there has dropped by as much as 50 per cent.
However, there wasn’t such vigilance shown in Auckland yesterday as playgrounds and other recreational facilities saw crowds of people flouting Level 3 restrictions .
Covid sufferers slam 'complacency'
While the country awaits the latest Alert Level decision, TVNZ’s Sunday has spoken to Kiwis who contracted Covid-19 several months ago and are still battling health problems .
Aucklander Jenene Crossan says she was a “perfectly healthy” 41-year-old before getting Covid-19 and now suffers a myriad of symptoms, while Lilian Su'a, who was close to death during two months in ICU, is also still recovering.
They’re warning against complacency over the virus and urging Kiwis to stick to lockdown rules.
Pain for hospitality industry
The Hospitality Association estimates 10 per cent of New Zealand’s bars and restaurants will close for good in the next fortnight, saying the Covid-related downturn will mean 50,000 job losses for the industry.
The Association is asking the Government to urgently come up with a targeted support package for hospitality businesses.
Meanwhile, The Warehouse is being accused of taking advantage of Auckland’s lockdown to push through restructure plans.
Despite Level 3 restrictions, the company is holding storewide meetings tomorrow, which First Union says is reckless and unfair.
The Warehouse says the meetings are to update team members on a consultation process that began in June and won’t require attendance from anyone in the Covid-19 at-risk category.
A 'game-changing' test
An Aucklander is leading a new coronavirus testing method that’s been labelled a game-changer in the fight against Covid-19.
Anne Wyllie heads a team of scientists at Yale University who have developed a cheap and easy saliva test that’s just been given rare emergency government clearance to be rolled out immediately across the US.
Ms Wyllie says the cost of testing has been prohibitive there, but these new tests cost as little as $15 and can produce results in just a few hours.
Other news of note this morning:
The Ministry of Health has made changes to Auckland’s travel restrictions to help businesses and service providers.
An Australian epidemiologist says there needs to be consequences for people withholding information during Covid-19 contact tracing.
A youth-led group campaigning to lower the voting age to 16 are taking their fight to the High Court in Wellington today.
Louise Nicholas says the government may be scrapping her role supporting victims of sexual violence, but it won't stop her from doing the work.
The Central Pulse have won back-to-back ANZ Premierships after beating the Mainland Tactix in the grand final last night.
The Herald reports former All Blacks captain Kieran Read has signed to play for Counties Manukau in this year's Mitre 10 Cup.
And scientists in Germany have held three pop concerts in one day to see how those attending could spread Covid-19 if they had it.
And finally...
There was panda-monium (sorry) over the weekend as the live stream of a giant panda giving birth “broke the internet”.
The arrival of the brand-new panda cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo saw traffic to their usual Panda Cam spike 1200 per cent.
Proud mama Mei Xiang can be seen in the video immediately cradling her tiny, squealing cub as it’s born.
As is the giant panda way, the cub’s father was blissfully oblivious to the new arrival as he rolled around in his outdoor enclosure away from the action.
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