Stranded Kiwis begin flying home from Sydney, the Government makes vaccinations mandatory for border workers, and RSV restrictions spread to more hospitals.
Hundreds of New Zealanders will begin returning home from Sydney today on special flights linked to managed isolation spots .
Despite Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s initial “flyer beware” warning about the trans-Tasman bubble, those travelling home won’t have to pay for their stay in managed isolation.
The flights follow a day in which New South Wales recorded another 112 community cases of Covid-19, marking the worst 24 hours of the region’s outbreak to date .
Ardern says there’s a “significant road to travel” before quarantine-free flights with New South Wales can resume.
She’s also defending using MIQ spots for Kiwis returning from Australia, saying they won’t be competing with New Zealanders in other parts of the world also trying to book rooms.
Meanwhile, the quarantine-free travel bubble with Queensland resumes today , with officials deeming the health risk to New Zealand as low. All returnees will still need a negative PCR pre-departure test.
So far, more than 50 people have been caught arriving in the country without that test and have been given the choice of either flying back to Australia or going into managed isolation.
Despite those people being caught breaking the rules, Stuff reports not all passenger tests are being checked.
Sign up to get the Morning Briefing delivered direct to your inbox – here.
New measures for border staff
The Government says all border workers in ports and airports will now need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 - not just those working in MIQ.
The new mandate comes as figures show nearly 1800 workers on the front line still haven’t had a single Covid jab, despite being offered it since February.
When asked why the move is only just being implemented now, Jacinda Ardern described the compulsory vaccinations as an “extraordinary step”.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says border workers who remain unvaccinated beyond the new deadlines in place “will need to discuss options with their employer”.
RNZ reports the new vaccination measure may mean a rise in employment disputes .
Employment law advocate Ashleigh Fechney says companies could wind up at the Employment Relations Authority if they don't follow the rules.
Record number of cases in Fiji
A 15-year-old girl has died in Fiji from Covid-19.
Her death was one of three recorded there yesterday , along with a record 873 cases of the virus.
A 56-year-old woman who had received her first dose of a Covid vaccine and an unvaccinated 87-year-old women were the other two deaths. The death toll from Fiji’s current outbreak now stands at 56.
Meanwhile, Fijian officials will be enforcing new penalties for breaching Covid restrictions from this week.
RNZ reports on-the-spot fines will range from $14 for individuals to up to $2870 for companies.
RSV restrictions spread
Two Christchurch hospitals have joined others in restricting visits amid an increase in viral respiratory illnesses in the community, including the highly contagious RSV.
Canterbury DHB has requested people only visit Christchurch and Burwood Hospitals for essential purposes. They’re also asking that no children visit the facilities.
The move comes as hospitals struggle to cope with the spike in RSV cases.
While many of those suffering with the virus are children, there are warnings for older Kiwis to also take the RSV outbreak seriously.
A 72-year-old man in Southland has told Stuff he had to be admitted to hospital at the weekend after contracting the virus, saying “The Grim Reaper had a good hold on my leg.”
Meanwhile, nurses at Wellington Hospital’s emergency department are dealing with other issues amid the huge demand, serving a notice to management to fix unsafe working conditions.
The notice follows multiple alleged safety breaches at the department last Tuesday night.
PM 'comfortable' with gang-led rehab
Jacinda Ardern says she is "comfortable" $2.75 million of Proceeds of Crime funding was given to a Mongrel Mob-led meth rehabilitation programme.
She says the programme ran for a “short time” in 2020 and was based off a 2010 programme which was part of the then-National Government’s meth action plan.
National’s current police spokesperson Simeon Brown has criticised the “outrageous” move, saying funding should instead go to organisations like the Salvation Army.
Ardern says last year’s programme focused on addressing meth addiction and the crimes that often result from it.
She says it had shown signs of success. She adds that she wants to stop victimisation and “that means we will be offering programmes to people who have a criminal past”.
Man admits officer's murder
As the trial of Eli Epiha continues, a jury must now decide whether he's guilty of attempting to murder Constable David Goldfinch, a charge he denies.
Goldfinch received serious gunshot wounds in June last year when his colleague Constable Matthew Hunt was shot and killed.
Epiha admitted to murdering Hunt when he made a late change to his plea last week, but he denies the attempted murder of Goldfinch.
Other news of note this morning:
- 'Freedom Day' is still going ahead in England , despite certainty that hospitalisations and deaths from Covid-19 will soar as a result.
- Jacinda Ardern will be chairing a virtual meeting of APEC leaders on Friday that will focus on the pandemic and its economic effects on the region.
- China says it will take “necessary measures” to respond to the US blacklisting of companies over their alleged role in abuses of Uyghur people.
- Some football fans have been widely condemned for racially abusing players on social media following England’s defeat in the European Championship final yesterday.
- Welfare advocates are criticising the treatment of women waiting to be refunded money wrongly taken from their benefit.
- The future of 600,000 books being culled from the National Library’s collection has been saved by a not-for-profit digital library based in the US.
- And a rare species of whitebait has been found in a little Auckland stream surrounded by housing developments.
And finally...
There are lots of towns in New Zealand that we get to know just because they're a good place to stop off for a pie or a coffee on the way to somewhere else.
But last night Seven Sharp gave one of those towns – a little slice of paradise called Hunterville - the glory it deserves.
Reporter Julian Lee visited the classic stopover between Bulls and Taupō, where he quickly discovered it pays to keep an eye on the town’s wildlife...
SHARE ME