It’s practically a re-run of HBO’s hit drama of last year, Chernobyl: an authoritarian regime magnifies what might have been a mere disaster into a potentially globe-threatening catastrophe, due to its obsessive secrecy and culture of cover-up, lies and blame-shifting. The only big difference is that the actual
Robyn J. Whitaker University of Divinity Plagues of global proportions might seem biblical, but coronavirus is creating new challenges for faith leaders. Last week in Australia, many churches, mosques and synagogues decided proactively to cancel their normal worship services. These were not easy decisions for groups for whom being a
You can get toilet paper, Dettol and tissues if you try hard enough, but one thing that is impossible to get hold of these days is hand sanitiser. And the advice to wash your hands often and well is good, but there are always times when you simply cannot wash
New Zealand is now at Level 3 to stop and eradicate COVID-19. Full detail of what Alert Level 3 entails can be found at the Government’s COVID19.govt.nz website. PM and Finance Minister Update * Confirmed 12 had now fully recovered, and this number was likely to increase. * Staying
Breaking news! A cure for COVID-19. 100% success rate! True or False? Disclaimer: My medical expertise is limited to applying a plaster with the sticky side down. The old reliable Malaria drug chloroquine, the newer version hydroxychloroquine has shown really good, three studies, one in Australia, one in China and
Sanjaya Senanayake Australian National University You’re probably inundated with news and messages about coronavirus at the moment. But how do you know if you’re consuming evidence-based information or just speculation and myth? There’s still a lot we don’t know but here’s what the evidence tells
The PM’s address about the four-stage alert levels for Covid-19 was intended to reassure the nation, but instead of averting panic, her disappointing lack of leadership fuelled it. Ardern was criticised for not closing airports earlier and for allowing cruise ships, (breeding grounds for the virus), to dock at
Act Party Update: “The Government has made the right call by moving New Zealand to Alert Level 3 immediately and to Alert Level 4 in 48 hours”, says ACT Leader David Seymour. “Now is the time for all New Zealanders to support the measures announced by the Prime Minister this
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Casey Costello Hobson’s Pledge Trust There is not the slightest justification for allocating $56-million in Covid-19 funding on the basis of race, Hobson’s Pledge spokesperson Casey Costello said yesterday. In today’s announcement: * $10 million from Vote Maori Development is for community outreach, * $30 million for Maori health
Lizzie Presser ProPublica ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. As of Friday, Louisiana was reporting 479 confirmed cases of COVID-19, one of the highest numbers in the country. Ten people had died. The
Prime Minister’s statement: * Alert Level 3 now in place immediately * PM will issue an epidemic notice and will move country to a national civil defence emergency * Two cases of possible community spread. * Potential for cases to double every five days. * Reviewed in 48 hours, will go to Level 4
In 1346 the Mongolian army brought the Black Plague to Europe. Laying siege to the Crimean port of Caffa, Jani Beg the leader of ‘the Golden Horde’ decided to catapult the infected corpses of his comrades over the city walls. Those citizens who escaped took the bacterium Yersinia Pestis back
John Daley Chief Executive Officer Grattan Institute This is longer than the usual Conversation article, so allow some time to take it in. Nobody likes talking about the COVID-19 endgame, but we need to choose one. The appropriate interventions – public health, government spending, and freedom of movement – all depend on
