Covid Watch

Chris Hipkins says the Government will be making a "carefully balanced decision" on whether to continue to scrap the mandatory seven-day isolation period for people who test for Covid.

Cabinet will review Covid rules today, with an announcement expected some time this week.

Ministers will be basing their decision on the latest public health advice, and the state of the health system heading into winter.

The Prime Minister told Tim Dower it's a careful balancing act between the impact of people being unable to go to work, and the impact of Covid spreading.

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Bad news for clothing and homewares retailer EziBuy.

The company has been put into administration by its Australian owners - which is likely to be the end of the line for the business.

Owner Mosaic Brands says EziBuy’s sales have fallen 51 percent year-on-year in the first half of the financial year.

Head of retail at Devon Funds, Greg Smith says the business had been starting to decline for some time.

He explained it was profitable during the pandemic for a time, but most businesses that did well through Covid-19 are starting to fall.

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There was a big, and welcome, Covid win for the unvaccinated carers who took the Government to court, with the court deciding the Government erred.

It's not the first time the Government has lost or has been found to err in court over Covid.

But this one seemed particularly egregious to me.

This, in a way, goes back to the Matt Hancock scandal in Britain where his astonishing series of WhatsApp messages, as well as email and text communications, during Covid showed just what a mess the whole Government approach was.

I asked at the time what sort of picture would be painted if we had the local versions available to us.

The court cases that have been taken, to a very small degree, give us an insight.

The family carers had their funding stopped and they were threatened with fines.

The judge has found that the mandate was invalid because it was not a decision that was available to the minister on the basis of the information that was before him at the time.

They hadn't originally been included in the mandates but the minister was advised to amend the order. The key was no public advice was given in the briefing to the minister as to why the amendments should be made.

There was not enough information before him to make the amendment - and yet he did.

Oh, by the way, the minister we refer to? Chris Hipkins.

It was clearly driven by the Government's one stop shop approach. They wanted a vaccinated work force and there was no room for exceptions or subtlety.

So, with a stroke of a pen the carers were out, the money was stopped and they were alienated for a year.

I'm not sure whether this victory puts it right for them. They want an apology, which I would have thought was a forgone conclusion, and the Government is looking to cough the money they stopped.

But it is another insight into what clearly was a frantic mess behind the scenes, where anything was accepted and they took a “we will explain later approach”.

There were two broad approaches that Governments could have taken to Covid. Either lead by example and clarity and take the people with you, or bludgeon them with fear and dictate.

They chose the 'Pulpit of Truth', it cost a Prime Minister her job - and they ended up in court and, on this example, lost.

With the benefit of hindsight, and SME legal action, it's becoming more and more clear they made the wrong choice.

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Queen Consort Camilla has tested positive for Covid-19 for a second time.

The royal was forced to pull out of several scheduled royal engagements following the announcement.

Her conditions was previously described as a 'seasonal illness'.

UK Correspondent Enda Brady says a statement from Buckingham Palace confirms Camilla is in 'good spirits' as she recovers.

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Makers of a new vaccine say we shouldn't be complacent about Covid boosters.

Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand is working through the final stages of the pre-clinical development of VAANZ-201.

It's suggesting a long immunity against all variants, and unlike the Pfizer vaccine, can be stored at refrigerator temperatures.

Malaghan Institute Vaccine Alliance Executive Director Kjesten Wigg told Tim Dower vaccine protection tends to wane.

It could be two or three years, before the vaccine is available for patients' arms.

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Pre-loved clothing business Designer Wardrobe has had to revamp their strategy to renting and selling clothes to Kiwis.

Designer Wardrobe was forced to close all their physical locations by the end of 2021 due to Covid uncertainty, and the business has been operating completely online for over a year.

The Covid-19 pandemic presented a fair amount of challenges for the company, but consumers are still interested in buying and renting pre-used designer wear at a reduced prices, so the business was able to thrive.

Designer Wardrobe CEO Aidan Bartlett says the company had to make a lot of challenging calls during Covid, but they've come out stronger than ever.

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A public health expert says New Zealand should be more worried about visitors from the U.S, as a Covid-19 super-variant surges through that country.

Our Government has chosen not to follow the lead of other western nations in requiring pre-departure tests for people arriving from China. Instead, travellers are encouraged to be tested if they arrive here with symptoms.

Auckland University public health associate professor Sir Colin Tukuitonga says more focus should be on the new XBB.1.5 variant prevalent in the U.S.

He says it's fast-spreading and it's now causing three quarters of all cases in New Jersey, New York and New England.

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The French Government have stated that they will continue to screen air travellers coming out of China for Covid-19.

A French Government spokesperson has defended this decision to enforce testing requirements, as the wave of Covid cases coming out of China was a "legitimate concern" for the world and an epidemic is the last thing any country wants.

This statement was made shortly after a press conference hosted by the WHO, who also criticised China for their representation and under-reporting of Covid-19 deaths.

French correspondent Catherine Field confirms that the EU's Crisis Response group will work together to establish a coordinated response to testing and processing arrivals out of China, with more meetings set to proceed today.

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A change in China's Covid-19 policy has led to tighter travel restrictions in the US.

From January, people arriving from China will need to show a negative test within two days of arrival to the US.

It follows China ditching mandatory isolation for those infected with the virus.

US Correspondent Richard Arnold says cases are rising rapidly there.

He told Tim Beveridge that's translating to serious infection rates amongst travellers. Arnold says on a recent flight out of China half the passengers had the virus.
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