Lisa Owen

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says all possibilities on the table for the South Island if no cases are found by Friday.

"I wouldn't rule anything in or out, we'll make those decisions… Video, Audio

At least 13,000 contacts and more than 300 locations of interest - the tentacles of the latest Covid-19 outbreak are continuing to spread right across Auckland, and beyond.

Thirty-five new cases were… Audio

Health authorities have been tracking down six people who were in an open walkway while the person with the earliest identified case of the Delta variant was in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza Hotel MIQ… Video, Audio

Scan, scan, scan. Or if you can't do that, it's sign in with pen and paper.

New rules are coming into force making it mandatory to record your visit at most busy places or events.

The change will… Video, Audio

News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

Seven Auckland Countdown supermarkets have been forced to close - mostly due to staff shortages.

That's because a thousand company employees in Auckland and Wellington are isolating because their… Video, Audio

Political editor Jane Patterson is at Parliament where the House meeting has been suspended for a week.

Select committees are continuing virtually.

RNZ political editor Jane Patterson has the… Video, Audio

Ninety-nine of the 107 cases in this Delta cluster are in Auckland. Just eight are in the capital.

So far no other cities or towns have returned positives for the more transmissible strain.

And the… Video, Audio

All of New Zealand will remain at Alert Level 4 lockdown for another four days, until 11:59pm this Friday.

The Auckland region, however, will remain in lockdown until 11:59pm next Tuesday August 31.

Secondary school students facing high stakes assessments will be in lockdown until at least Friday night, and until the end of the month for Aucklanders.

The Ministry of Education says schools… Video, Audio

The whole country will remain in Covid-19 Level 4 lockdown until the end of the week.

That includes the South Island, despite the fact there have been no cases detected yet.

Bruce Smith is the… Video, Audio

"Delta has a head start on us" - the Prime Minister's words on Monday afternoon before she announced how Aotearoa will catch up.

The whole of the country will remain in Alert Level 4 lockdown until… Video, Audio

Hundreds - including some of the first 12 to 15 years in the country - have been vaccinated against Covid-19 at a pop-up drive-thru clinic in South Dunedin.

Anxious to get their jabs amid the level… Video, Audio

Tributes have been flooding in for the late Deputy Prime Minister Sir Michael Cullen.

He died last night in Whakatāne after being diagnosed with advanced lung cancer last year.

Sir Michael played a… Audio

There are calls for accessible covid testing for the disabled community - with many struggling to get swabbed.

One woman says she was forced to dehydrate herself so she could spend hours in line for… Audio

Lynfield College principal Cath Knell told Checkpoint she has asked officials to provide a pop-up testing centre at the school.

The big request from the community is for a pop-up Covid-19 testing… Video, Audio

Three Auckland secondary schools now have Covid cases to deal with. Along with Avondale College, staff and students at Northcote and Lynfield Colleges have now been told to isolate and get tested.

… Video, Audio

There's been a spike in demand for community service providers across the motu during lockdown.

Food parcels, take away lunches and advise to those in need is being given - and providers are… Audio

The All Blacks have abandoned their plans to fly to Perth this weekend for the third Bledisloe Cup test - but say they remain committed to playing out the Rugby Championship.

The team was due to… Audio

Persistently high case numbers means- Greater Sydney's lockdown is extended by another month.

As Worldwatch's Perlina Lau reports - tougher restrictions are being enforced too. Audio