Checkpoint for Friday 20 March 2020

5:10 PM.New Zealanders are being warned to be kind and remain calm after panic buying yesterday left supermarket shelves across the country empty.

Supermarket owners say they have plenty of stock to go round… Read more Audio

5:12 PM.Southern DHB is alerting people to various locations where they may have come in contact with a Spanish tourist who has Covid-19 and is currently in Lakes District Hospital.

These are all considered… Read more Audio

5:13 PM.Taxpayers have flown to the rescue of Air New Zealand, with the Crown loaning our national airline $900 million to save it from almost certain collapse.

The Finance Minister Grant Robertson says the… Read more Audio

5:15 PM.New Zealanders stuck overseas are paying thousands of dollars to get home. In many cases have no idea if they will be allowed to board flights - or whether more flights will be cancelled due to… Read more Audio

5:21 PM.The New Zealand Warriors are defying the odds and will continue to play in the NRL Premiership for as long as the rugby league competition continues this season.

Warriors chief executive Cameron… Read more Audio

5:22 PM.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern joins Lisa Owen to discuss issues around the Covid-19 restrictions.

In response to the question of whether schools will close, or school holidays will be extended, she… Read more Video, Audio

5:35 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Video, Audio

5:41 PM.A man who deliberately lit fires in tinder-dry Tasman last year initially posed as a frightened resident who had to be evacuated from his home.

Benjamin Durrant and Abigail Page have been on trial… Read more Audio

5:44 PM.Low-decile schools could act as 'food-hubs' for communities in need if schools have to go into lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Schools are figuring out how to teach students from home if… Read more Video, Audio

5:48 PM.In Christchurch, noise complaints about the police Eagle helicopter have skyrocketed.

Sitting at 39 just a week ago, as of Wednesday night they had almost doubled as residents register their… Read more Audio

5:53 PM.Wellington College has embarked on a digital-learning trial, to prepare for being closed if there was to be a widespread outbreak of Covid-19 in New Zealand.

Teachers were livestreaming from their… Read more Audio

6:06 PM.Calm down and shop normally! That's the message from supermarket owners today as they rush to assure New Zealanders there is more than enough food in the country.

Shoppers have encountered empty… Read more Video, Audio

6:11 PM.The forecast for businesses around the country is growing bleaker each day as efforts to contain Covid-19 ramp up.

Businesses will recieve the lion's share of a mega $12.1 billion dollar economic… Read more Audio

6:15 PM.Care workers say a lack of communication from their employers is stoking fear among their patients that they will catch Covid-19 from their support workers.

One carer RNZ spoke to says she still has… Read more Audio

6:20 PM.The numbers of Covid-19 cases across the Pacific has risen to 26 with five more people testing positive in French Polynesia today.

Tonga and Samoa have declared states of emergencies. Foreign… Read more Audio