An MIQ employee tests positive for Covid-19, the trans-Tasman travel bubble floats further away, and the Corrections Minister calls for an urgent overhaul in the treatment of women prisoners.
A worker at an Auckland managed isolation facility has tested positive for Covid-19 during routine testing for the virus.
The person works at the Grand Millennium hotel and is believed to be asymptomatic.
They and their immediate household members are in isolation while additional testing and whole genome sequencing is arranged.
The Ministry of Health has not yet released any potential public locations of interest related to the new case. Officials also haven’t said whether the employee had been vaccinated for Covid-19.
Meanwhile, returnees at another MIQ facility are having their stays extended after sharing a bus with a person who tested positive for Covid-19.
The person was staying at Auckland’s Grand Mercure hotel and was among guests who took a bus to exercise in Mt Albert. They tested positive for the virus on Day 12 of their stay in managed isolation.
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Travel bubble floats further away
Mark your diaries, travellers – the Government says it will announce a start date for the elusive trans-Tasman bubble on April 6.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand officials still need to finalise some aspects of the proposed travel arrangement, including contact tracing measures for people arriving from Australia, the use of QR codes, and the framework for an alert level system that accounts for multiple Australian states.
Ardern again warned Kiwis that any travel bubble would have an “element of flyer beware” , saying travellers risk getting stranded in the event of a Covid-19 outbreak on either side of the Tasman.
The insurance industry is also asking people to be aware their travel insurance may not cover extra expenses if either country goes into lockdown.
Opposition MPs were quick to lampoon the Prime Minister’s "announcement to have an announcement" over the bubble yesterday, while the tourism industry also expressed its frustrations at the lack of a confirmed start date.
But as the country nears a return to quarantine-free international travel, Stuff reports the Government is also looking at downgrading the current advice for Kiwis to not travel overseas due to the pandemic.
And with the imminent travel bubble presenting another step towards life beyond Covid-19, BusinessDesk’s Pattrick Smellie has looked at the challenges that a newly vaccinated world will present for New Zealand and its current Covid-19 elimination strategy.
'Unacceptable' failings at prison
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis has launched a blistering attack on how Auckland Women's Prison has been run following several disturbing incidents there.
He’s ordered the Department of Corrections to urgently overhaul its treatment of women in prison after what he calls “unacceptable” failings found during an investigation into the facility.
That examination of processes was triggered by allegations around the unreasonable use of pepper spray and confinement cells at Auckland Women’s Prison.
The Department of Corrections has confirmed it’s met with and apologised to three women at the centre of those complaints.
Amnesty International Aotearoa says it shouldn’t have reached “this crisis point, with women being dehumanised” for Corrections to urgently overhaul its treatment of female prisoners.
Spy agency releases internal report
New Zealand’s spy agency has released an internal review it commissioned into its actions prior to the March 15 terrorist attack at two Christchurch mosques.
The report (which you can find here ) was conducted by an independent expert and found SIS systems were "broadly effective" in meeting national security demands. However, some possible improvements were suggested, including better identification of new threats.
The report release comes as experts say New Zealand’s terror list needs expanding .
Sunscreen labels in spotlight
Fair Go has investigated sunscreen regulations this week following the experience of a five-year-old boy who was badly sunburned last month.
Isaac Eddy took a fortnight to recover from serious sunburn on his back and upper thigh despite his mother covering him with water-resistant sunscreen four times in as many hours.
Fair Go checked out the sunscreen’s label, which the Cancer Society says is accurate in terms of how the SPF rating is tested but adds there may be consumer misunderstanding as to what that testing means.
A Private Member's Bill advocating the regulation of sunscreen to a therapeutic standard is now before Parliament. If passed, the bill would follow Australia, which already has sunscreen regulations in place.
Hedgehogs shock conservationists
They may be cute little critters, but hedgehogs pose a serious threat to several native species – and they’ve made an unwelcome appearance in the South Island’s high country.
Conservationists say they were shocked to recently discover the nocturnal visitors nearly 2000 metres up mountains in the Mackenzie Basin.
A trial project has now been launched to completely eradicate hedgehogs from a 2500-hectare area using 560 traps, however Te Manahuna Aoraki researcher Nick Foster says the process still needs some fine-tuning.
"They are a bit of a prick of a thing to catch."
Other news of note this morning:
- New Zealand’s housing market is set for a major shake-up today with the Government expected to announce a policy addressing the crisis.
- A new online questionnaire has been released on the Unite Against Covid-19 website to help Kiwis get an idea of when they can receive a coronavirus vaccine.
- Boris Johnson has warned the third wave of Covid-19 currently sweeping through European nations will likely hit the UK .
- Ten million Australians are under weather warnings and bracing for a further drenching today as days of downpours reach their peak .
- Former NRL star Jarryd Hayne will "inevitably" be jailed after being found guilty of sexual assault.
- Primary school teachers have made emotional pleas for better staffing on day one of an independent review into the sector.
- Fundamental technical issues look to have grounded a proposed walking and cycling path across the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
- A pilot has had a lucky escape after a rabbit hole caused their plane to flip.
- And New Zealand’s first-ever commercial pineapple crop is on the way.
And finally...
For more than 20 years, Auckland’s Sky Tower has dominated the city's landscape, lighting up to mark special events.
But now there’s a new shiny kid in town – and it’s giving the country’s tallest building a good run for its money...
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