The Government has revealed an aggressive testing blitz over the next week as it looks to make sure New Zealand is ahead of the latest Covid-19 outbreak.
More than 100,000 Aucklanders have been tested for the virus since the current cluster emerged, with the Government now aiming for an additional 70,000 tests around New Zealand in the next seven days.
Some GPs are also calling for longer-term strategies for keeping testing levels up as alert levels go down.
It comes as seven new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the community yesterday, all linked to the existing Auckland cluster.
Eight people are receiving hospital treatment for the virus, including a man in his 30s who’s now in intensive care at North Shore Hospital.
It’s still not known how he contracted the virus, which as The Spinoff reports , is causing some concern for health officials.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has warned Kiwis to expect the daily Covid-19 case numbers to climb this week but says this doesn’t necessarily mean alert level restrictions will extend past the weekend.
She says it would be more worrisome if there’s a surge in cases that can’t be connected to the current cluster.
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Making the mask mandate work
With masks becoming compulsory on public transport around the country from Monday, organisations are working out the logistics of enforcing such a policy.
Wellington region's public transport head Scott Gallacher says police, not staff, will deal with any safety breaches .
Some bus drivers also want the Government to provide security guards to enforce the mask rule. First Union says bus drivers copped abuse trying to manage social distancing rules during lockdown and are worried this could get worse.
Meanwhile, epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker is glad the Government has mandated masks but says more gains against Covid-19 could've been achieved had the move been made earlier .
Economist Christina Leung has also encouraged the mask move, saying the new Covid-19 catchphrase should be “wear a mask, save the economy” .
"By taking on these small personal inconveniences, we avoid that risk of having that large economic cost of shutting a large part of the economy down the track,” she says.
The guidelines for mandatory mask use are set to be announced tomorrow.
Kiwis' wings clipped
Aucklanders excited about leaving the city when it shifts down to Level 2 next week may have to stick to their cars.
Tough physical distancing rules mean airlines can only fill approximately half their seats, which is making flights expensive – or seeing them cancelled outright.
Jetstar has suspended all their domestic flights until at least September 6, saying limitations on the number of passengers they can carry makes those journeys unviable.
Air New Zealand also says in order to cover operating costs, they won’t be able to offer their lowest lead-in fares until social distancing rules are removed.
But that hasn’t stopped some Aucklanders – they’ve already snapped up every available seat on the airline’s flights to Queenstown next week.
Gunman sniggers at statement
The second day of the Christchurch mosque shooter’s sentencing proved an emotional rollercoaster as victims continued to address him in court.
One survivor ditched his written statement for a spontaneous speech that drew a round of applause. Another survivor’s statement prompted a snigger from the gunman .
Others told him his attack on the religion of Islam had failed and had actually empowered many victims to share their faith.
The victim impact statements are due to finish today with Justice Cameron Mander expected to hand down the shooter’s sentence tomorrow.
NZX suffers cyber attack
An offshore cyber attack led to an abrupt halt in trading in the NZX cash markets late yesterday afternoon.
The NZX experienced what’s known as a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. The attack aims to disrupt service by saturating a network with significant volumes of internet traffic.
The problem has since been mitigated and connectivity restored.
Other news of note this morning:
An investigation is underway after a large fire engulfed a historic Wellington building last night.
Frontline Pasifika healthcare teams have been given a $19.5 million boost to help fight Covid-19.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has pushed back on National leader Judith Collins' description of Chris Hipkins as an "essentially part-time" Health Minister.
Tauranga has joined a growing list of councils voting to establish Māori wards for the next round of local government elections.
Africa has been declared free of wild polio , with the disease now only found in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Three in five Australians say they would support making Covid-19 patients wear ankle bracelets to ensure people stay in home isolation.
As Donald Trump Jr praises his father's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic during a speech at the Republican Convention, wealthy Americans lead a surge in foreign investors seeking a haven in NZ .
And the global pandemic has seen KFC ditch its famous "finger-lickin' good" slogan.
And finally...
Wellington’s celebrity cat Mittens may have been given the Key to the City back in May, but even that’s not enough to open the doors of the city’s managed isolation facilities.
The fluffy feline known for appearing around the capital has made several attempts to break into an isolation hotel this week, leaving security guards on high alert.
With cats emerging as potential vectors of Covid-19 , hotel staff don’t want guests fawning over Mittens and potentially sending the virus back out to the public.
RNZ reports Dr Ashley Bloomfield is yet to comment on Mittens’ repeated attempts to get into the hotel.
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