COVID-19 Daily News Roundup

Public health strategy
Henry Cooke and Luke Malpass (Stuff): Poll shows Kiwis back harsh measures but are extremely worried about virus
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Poll shows Kiwis back the Leviathan of the state
Michael Baker (The Conversation): ‘Overjoyed’: a leading health expert on New Zealand’s coronavirus shutdown, and the challenging weeks ahead
1News: ‘This has given us a chance’ – Public health expert commends Government on coronavirus lockdown
Jamie Morton (Herald): NZ may have been spared worst-case disaster in ‘nick of time’ – expert
Newshub: Coronavirus can be beaten if New Zealanders follow intense isolation rules – infectious disease expert
Jamie Morton (Herald): Lockdown ‘sacrifice’ must come with testing surge
Michael Morrah (Newshub): Doctors warn of blind spot in Government’s COVID-19 response plan
Hannah Martin (Stuff): Drive-up virus testing clinics swamped by demand
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Screening has been ramped up but how does testing work?
1News: Sir Peter Gluckman strongly urging Kiwis to abide by level four restrictions or risk spreading coronavirus
1News: ‘Yes we can’ – Jacinda Ardern confident New Zealand can beat coronavirus pandemic
1News: Ardern calls on young people to take self-isolation seriously – ‘You may feel resilient but it’s not just about you’

Government, Parliament
Richard Harman (Politik): Nobody got a bargain
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Parliament will close until late-April, replaced with Simon Bridges-chaired select committee
Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): Special committee set-up as Parliament is adjourned
Jason Walls (Herald): Speaker confirms Parliament won’t sit until April 28 amid alert level 4 lockdown
Anna Whyte (1News): Winston Peters to work from home as country prepares to go into coronavirus lockdown
Thomas Coughlan (Stuff: Forget unity, New Zealand needs dissent now more than ever
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): No place for politics in ghastly Covid-19 situation

Lockdown
Derek Cheng (Herald): Lockdown approaches but Jacinda Ardern says to stay at home now
Alexander Gillespie (The Conversation): As NZ goes into lockdown, authorities have new powers to make sure people obey the rules
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Fines, prison and loss of property – What the Government could do if you break quarantine
Clare Aspinall (The Conversation): Self-isolating for coronavirus is impossible for tens of thousands of New Zealanders – unless we help them fast
Michael Hayward (Stuff): Plea for hikers, hunters, bikers and fishers to stay home
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): This is a lockdown, not a holiday
1News: Confusion as NZ First promotes solo hunting during coronavirus lockdown
Jake McKee Cagney (Herald): Kiwis advised not to spend lockdown at bach
Herald Editorial: A whanau of five million
Herald Editorial: Get behind the Covid-19 coronavirus shutdown
Southland Times Editorial: We shall be released

Border
RNZ: Jacinda Ardern to focus on tightening up restrictions on returning New Zealanders

Health system
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Health workers could live away from families for weeks
Nicholas Jones (Herald): Software to help doctors decide who gets an ICU bed
RNZ: 53 intensive care beds in country – survey
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Worry over burnt-out and understaffed Intensive Care Units
Herald: Auckland nurse opens up about Covid-19 reality for healthcare workers
Emma Russell (Herald): All non-urgent surgeries cancelled

Essential services
RNZ: Government clarifies essential services during Covid-19 lockdown
Esther Taunton (Stuff): ‘Forcibly shut down’ non-essential services trying to operate, says union
Lane Nichols (Herald): Pizza chain labelled ‘socially irresponsible’ for remaining open during lockdown
Victoria Young (BusinessDesk): PM’s ‘name and shame’ moment for non-essential firms still trading
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemns cafes, bars staying open despite alert level increase
Herald: The Warehouse, liquor stores to close during lockdown
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Further clarification on ‘essential services’ that can stay open during COVID-19 lockdown
Liu Chen (RNZ): All restaurants, cafes and bars set for total closure

Supermarkets
Michael Daly (Stuff): Supermarkets to put up screens, limit customer numbers
Luke Kirkness (Herald): Perspex screens and pack-your-own, Countdown’s lockdown safety measures
1News: Countdown stores to limit customers, introduce perspex shields during coronavirus lockdown

Housing
Jason Walls (Herald): Six-month mortgage holiday scheme likely to stop housing market ‘fire sale’
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): Government has announced a mortgage holiday, here’s what it could look like
Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern announces mortgage holiday for affected workers in scheme with banks
RNZ: Retail banks agree to a mortgage holiday repayment scheme
Anna Whyte (1News): Banks to provide mortgage holidays to those whose incomes impacted by Covid-19
Eric Frykberg (RNZ): House sellers, buyers face derailed or delayed sales

Economy, business support
Brian Easton (Pundit): Dealing With The Covid-19 Tsunami
Jason Walls (Herald): Finance Minister says Government has more fiscal firepower to fight virus
Joe Nunweek (Metro): Coronavirus support package: Government putting too much trust in business owners to do the right thing
Liam Dann (Herald): How big is this global economic shock? How long will recovery take? (paywalled)
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): As credit markets panic, the Government is poised to make a stunning move into lending (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): $6.25b Government-backed loan scheme designed to see more firms through crisis
Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Government hints at help for ‘very large’ companies as it unveils $6.25 billion loan guarantees (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (1News): Upper limit of Business Guarantee scheme ‘arbitrary’, says National
Newstalk ZB: Reserve Bank urged to take Official Cash Rate below zero

Welfare
Sarah Robson (RNZ): WINZ moves to online and phone services

Kiwis stranded overseas, tourists stranded here
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Foreign Minister Winston Peters urges Kiwis overseas to take shelter as PM warns there will be no way home
Anna Whyte (1News): Jacinda Ardern warns some Kiwis stuck overseas ‘won’t make it back’ to NZ in time for coronavirus shutdown
RNZ: New Zealanders overseas told window to return home amid coronavirus ‘almost completely closed’
Grant Bradley (Herald): Freight flight plan for stranded Kiwis (paywalled)
Dominic Harris (Stuff): Thousands of stranded travellers left in limbo as airlines shut down
Harry Lock (RNZ): Plans to go home in tatters as international travel options crumble due to Covid-19
1News: Government to extend temporary visas to allow travellers to stay in NZ
Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Potentially more than 100,000 tourists still here
ODT: Mayor warns of ‘crisis’ for migrant workers

Transport
Simon Collins (Herald): Travel deadline extended to Friday as stranded students struggle to get home by midnight tomorrow
Amelia Wade (Herald): Deadline for domestic travel extended so people can get home
Anna Whyte (1News): Domestic travel deadline extended to Friday midnight as Covid-19 lockdown looms
RNZ: Celebrations for some as new travel deadline announced
1News: Air New Zealand to put out additional aircraft as Kiwis scramble home before coronavirus lockdown
RNZ: Auckland’s public transport to be free, but restricted during Covid-19 lockdown
Herald: Wellington City Council cancels parking charges
RNZ: Most work on state highways closing down – NZTA
RNZ: The Detail: The future of flying looks grim

Freight
Jason Walls (Herald): Government’s air freight package ensures critical imports such as medicine continue
RNZ: Government provides $330m in funding to keep air freight going during lockdown
Collette Devlin (Stuff): Transport Minister says air freight will keep moving during NZ lockdown
1News: More details released of Government’s $600 million aviation support package

Education
RNZ: What you need to know about school and uni closures
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Thousands of kids could go hungry as schools close
1News: Teaching students in coronavirus lockdown a ‘significant challenge’, Principals Federation says
Sean Hogan (1News): Schools get creative as lockdown looms for education sector
Simon Collins (Herald): Innovative Auckland primary school advises 1-3 hours a day of home learning
Nikki Preston (Herald): How to home school your children

Child care
Lee Kenny (Stuff): Essential service workers scramble to find childcare
Anna Whyte (1News): Buddy system allowed to care for children of essential workers
1News: Children of parents with shared custody arrangements can travel between homes during Covid-19 lockdown
Dubby Henry (Herald): Playgrounds shut down across New Zealand

Justice, corrections
Anneke Smith (RNZ): Justice system: How prisons and courts are responding to Covid-19
Sam Hurley (Herald): What court hearings will continue during New Zealand’s pandemic lockdown?

Pacific
RNZ: Pacific nations on heightened alert, flights suspended
RNZ: Samoa waits for seven COVID-19 tests
RNZ: Fourth case in Fiji confirmed

Guns
George Block (Stuff): Air rifle sales shoot up ‘exponentially’ before lockdown
Chris Marriner (Herald): Queues seen outside Auckland gun shop
RNZ: Gun store owner urges calm after firearms owners queue outside shops

Internet
Juha Saarinen (Herald): Online government services and grocery shopping must be robust during pandemics
Lana Andelane (Newshub): New Zealand’s internet infrastructure ‘world class’ – but beware of scammers