Checkpoint for Wednesday 29 April 2020

5:07 PM.Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters marked his exit from isolation and return to Parliament on Wednesday with a speech revealing Cabinet was asked to consider closing the borders to everyone -… Read more Audio

5:21 PM.Two sisters battling to get out of mandatory isolation early to see their dying mother says the exemption process is cruel and flawed.

The pair flew back to New Zealand from Melbourne on April 18, 11… Read more Audio

5:25 PM.School was back on Wednesday, but classrooms were largely empty with less than 8,000 pre-schoolers turning up to early childhood centres and less than 12,000 - one percent of school children turning… Read more Video, Audio

5:32 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:36 PM.Supermarket and rest home workers will likely be the target of new Covid-19 surveillance testing to keep the virus under control.

Today there were just two new Covid-19 cases confirmed - but images… Read more Audio

5:40 PM.Ski field maintenance teams are on the mountains this week for the first time as operators get ready to open in June.

But the billion dollar industry, which employs about 3,000 people, still does not… Read more Audio

5:50 PM.The owners of catteries and kennels say they're relying on domestic travel opening up soon to save their businesses.

Under alert level 3 more of us can now go to work, but because we still can't… Read more Audio

5:53 PM.From ballet to karate to singing - it is not just school that has gone online - after-school activities have too.

And many are realising the potential of virtual lessons.

Lydia Batham reports. Read more Audio

6:06 PM.National's Trade, Tourism and Economic Development spokesperson Todd McClay says New Zealand should open the border to Australia with no isolation period either way by the end of 2020, and is urging… Read more Video, Audio

6:12 PM.Schools and early learning centres partially reopened on Wednesday for the first time in five weeks.

The move allowed thousands of parents to return to work and thousands of children to get back into… Read more Video, Audio

6:17 PM.Fiordland tourism operators say the rules governing the National Park are outdated and leave no room for common sense.

Each national park is required to have its management plan reviewed every 10… Read more Audio

6:22 PM.Whether heading off on a family outing, or just a trip to the shops to top up on supplies, or even for an essential worker's new way of commuting to work, cycling has been a clear winner of the… Read more Audio

6:25 PM.He walked 100 laps of his garden, raised more than £29 million for the UK health system, and now British War Veteran Captain Tom Moore has received more than 100,000 birthday cards to mark his 100th… Read more Video, Audio