As Covid-19 spreads around the world, it can be daunting keeping up with the information. For RNZ, our responsibility is to give you verified, up to the minute, trustworthy information to help you make decisions about your lives and your health. We'll also be asking questions of officials and decision makers about how they're responding to the virus. Our aim is to keep you informed.
New Zealand's second Covid-19 death was announced on Easter Friday - the country's 16th day of lockdown.
Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay at the announcement of New Zealand's second death from Covid-19. Photo: Pool / NZME
The person who died was a woman in her 90s who lived at the Rosewood rest home in Christchurch.
She died in Burwood Hospital, her family was unable to see her in the lead up to her death.
Director of Public Health Caroline McElnay said the woman's condition was heightened by her 'frail' condition.
"Hospital staff were able to provide her with comfort and support, and we thank them for that," Dr McElnay said.
The woman was transferred from Rosewood Rest Home and Hospital to Burwood Hospital alongside other residents, as part of a cluster management process.
Rosewood Rest Home and Hospital, where the second person to die from the Covid-19 coronavirus was living. Photo: Google Maps
The number of new cases in New Zealand has risen to 44 - 23 new confirmed and 21 new probable cases. The country's current total of Covid-19 cases is 1283.
Fourteen of the new cases are linked to existing clusters around the country. Twelve clusters remain in New Zealand.
There are now 16 people in hospital with the coronavirus - four are in ICU and two are in a critical condition, in the Southern and Waitemata DHB areas.
373 people had now recovered from the coronavirus.
*See all RNZ coverage of Covid-19
The number of new cases increased from 29 on Thursday and Dr McElnay said it was a good reminder for New Zealanders not to become complacent.
"We are still generally heading in the right direction, and that's very affirming. But it very much emphasises that we're not out of the woods yet.
"We would expect to see numbers to go up and down in the immediate short-term."
Police set up checkpoints over Easter weekend
Police have set up checkpoints around the country today in case anyone thinks they can go to holiday spots over the long weekend.
Sergeant Andrew Wallace was manning a checkpoint on State Highway 1 at Warkworth, north of Auckland, which would normally have traffic backed-up on Good Friday.
While he said most people had been compliant, there were one or two people stretching the rules.
One person was travelling from Orewa to Omaha - a drive of at least 20 minutes - to walk their dog, he said.
While checkpoint data is not yet available for every district, this is what police have reported so far:
- Almost 400 vehicles were stopped in Southern District, with five warnings given for minor breaches.
- Across Central District, 2123 vehicles were stopped, and 57 warnings were given out. Of those given warnings, 26 vehicles were turned around.
- In Rotorua, 600 vehicles were stopped with three turned back for non-essential travel.
- Up until 4pm yesterday, more than 2000 vehicles went through checkpoints across Auckland, with 46 drivers issued warnings.
In general, police have recorded a total of 583 breaches, with 74 prosecutions and 495 warnings issued since Alert Level 4 restrictions came into force.
Police checkpoint at Paekakariki Photo: SUPPLIED
Some workers missing out despite wage subsidy
Glen Scanlon chatted to a number of people who are slipping through the cracks of the wage subsidy scheme.
He chatted to Molly, who was working at a hospital as a nurse assistant.
She was on a casual contract but working nearly full-time, like she had for a number of years.
Now her hours have been cut to a quarter of what they were.
Being a government employee, she isn't eligible for the wage subsidy, so how does she pay the bills?
Elderly concerned access to vital information mostly online
Age Concern says essential messages and access to services need to be available via other sources other than just the internet so that everyone in the community is covered.
Spokesperson Simon Templeton said they have had a number of calls from older people, and their family members, concerned essential information was primarily available online.
He said information needed to come out in multifaceted ways, with radio and mail drops good options for older people.
Read more about the Covid-19 coronavirus:
- See all RNZ Covid-19 news
- Your Covid-19 questions answered - from health and jobs to keeping anxiety in check
- A timeline: How the coronavirus started, spread and stalled life in New Zealand
- Covid-19 symptoms: What they are and how they make you feel
- Touching your Face: Why do we do it and how to stop
- Scientific hand-washing advice to avoid infection
- Coronavirus: A glossary of terms
- The Coronavirus Podcast
Domestic violence concerns prompt lockdown plea
New Zealand's Women's Rights Commissioner is pleading for a reduction in domestic violence as some family bubbles become more dangerous.
Covid-19 has heightened the risks for those most vulnerable to family violence especially women, children, disabled and rainbow people and those in ethnic-minority communities.
Commissioner Saunoamaali'i Karanina Sumeo said abusers must call for help before intentionally hurting family members.
Geoff Muliaga Brown with his daughter (R) at the Marist College Fiafia night. Photo: Supplied
'I was angry about the process'
Geoff Muliaga Brown had a first hand account of the pain Covid-19 physically caused.
He felt like his organs were being squeezed. He had major pain down the sides of his body. He'd coughed up blood again. He had a fever, couldn't hold down food.
Then he started getting sharp pains around his chest. His breathing started to get worse.
Deer shed turns into pool for NZ triathlete
For something a bit lighter, RNZ Sports journalist Clay Wilson spoke to New Zealand triathlete Nicole van der Kaay and her dad, who built her a swimming pool in his deer shed so she could continue her training.
Photo: Supplied / Nicole van der Kaay
Around the regions
Countdown and Foodstuffs say they only gave priority to medical professionals, DHB and emergency services personnel with ID.
More than 80 Taranaki doctors have signed up for a crash course in a skill they hope they will never have to use - how to put a Covid-19 patient on a ventilator.
Dr Jonathan Albrett says the one-day course was designed to prepare the hospital for a worst case scenario.
Most of Dunedin city's council-owned companies will need the wage subsidy, according to Dunedin City Holdings chair, Keith Cooper.
Dunedin City Holdings Limited - the parent company for the city's assets including Aurora Energy's power network, Dunedin Airport and Forsyth Barr Stadium - had already forecasted a loss of $14 million before the Covid-19 outbreak
Queenstown travel agent Tori Keating is working to organise an Air New Zealand charter flight between Queenstown and Christchurch - both for stranded tourists and local residents wanting to get back to the Queenstown Lakes District.
Queenstown Airport ceased to operate commercial flights for the foreseeable future on 2 April - something Keating said was strange, given the amount of foreign nationals in the region.
Kelly Klink of Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea said some were coming ashore and using the island's scarce resources, including getting their groceries ordered to the island.
She said some boaties were being respectful, isolated and self-contained, but others were putting them at risk.
Dr Andreas Wieser is leading a study to examine how Covid-19 is spreading in German society. Photo: AFP
Around the world
Officials in the Pacific Island nations are urging their citizens to continue their efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19, despite the clean up efforts now underway following Cyclone Harold.
The cuts amount to 10 million barrels per day (bpd) or 10 percent of global supplies, with another 5 million bpd expected to come from other nations
Global fuel demand has plunged by around 30 percent of global supplies.
EU ministers have agreed on half a trillion euro coronavirus rescue plan.
The agreement was reached after EU powerhouse Germany, as well as France, put their feet down to end opposition from the Netherlands over attaching economic conditions to emergency credit for governments weathering the impacts of the pandemic, and offered Italy assurances that the bloc would show solidarity.
But the deal does not mention using joint debt to finance recovery - something Italy, France and Spain pushed strongly for but which is a red line for Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Austria.
And speaking of Germany, here's a piece on how Covid-19 arrived and spread in the country, and how the government there are fighting the virus.
As for figures, there are now more than 95,700 deaths that have been linked to Covid-19 and if the past days' trend continues, this weekend will see that number pass the 100,000 mark.
The highest toll is in Italy where 18,279 people have died with Covid-19, followed by the US (16,684), Spain (15,447), France (12,228) and the UK (7993).
