Morning Report

The New Zealand Medical Association says the Ministry of Health needs to keep reviewing PPE stocks and emergency plans, following a sweeping review from the Auditor General.

The review found that in the early stages of the Covid-19 response the Ministry didn't know how much personal protective gear DHBs had.

Once the Ministry started receiving regular information from DHBs about stock levels, it emerged that a significant amount had expired.

The Ministry then quickly moved to set up a new centralised system for procuring, prioritising, and distributing PPE.

NZMA chair and GP Kate Baddock told RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch what it was like for those needing PPE working at the coal face.

An Auckland University professor who has been modelling the spread of Covid-19 says it's "concerning" that contact tracing and testing times in the Auckland region has failed to meet the gold standard.

Ministry of Health figures released to RNZ show that between April 13 and May 29, 79 percent of close contacts in Auckland were traced within 48 hours, 79 percent of people were tested within two days of the onset of their symptoms, and 74 percent got their results back within a day.

The target for all three is 80 percent. Expert data modeller, Shaun Hendy, says even though the region was close to reaching the targets, people need to have confidence that the country's largest public health unit can quickly respond to an outbreak.

News from the rural and farming sector.

A brief update from the business sector.

A new report shows major gaps remain in mental health and addiction services, particularly for Maori, pregnant women, new mothers, prisoners and those in forensic units.

RNZ reporter Ruth Hill asked the Mental Health Commissioner, Kevin Allan, what progress has been made since his last report in 2018, which recommended a major overhaul of mental health services.

The Ministry of Health has had to backtrack on its assurances the two sisters who have Covid-19 didn't have any contact with anyone on their trip from Auckland to Wellington.

It's now emerged the two women did, as National MP Michael Woodhouse said, have contact with two friends as they were leaving Auckland.

The two women travelling from Britain were allowed to drive from Auckland to Wellington on Saturday after six days in managed isolation without being tested - and have now tested positive.

The Ministry of Health backtracks now admitting the two sisters who have Covid-19 DID meet friends on their trip from Auckland to Wellington. One of the 320 people caught up in the Covid-19 blunder over border controls says he's gobsmacked at the mistake. Beijing closes schools and restricts travels after a new outbreak of the coronavirus is discovered. New Zealand and Britain start negotiations for a free trade agreement.

A snow chain ban on Arthurs Pass has enraged three mayors and tens of thousands of road users either side of the alps.

The Transport Agency's new system sees State Highway 73 either completely open, or completely closed while ice and snow is cleared, in a bid to improve access and safety.

Those who made the change will have to explain themselves at a meeting in Castle Hill tonight.

Katie Todd reports.

Forestry might be back and buzzing but for many other industries in the North Island's east coast, layoffs have been sharply rising.

The latest job seeker numbers show more than 10,000 people actively looking for work in the region that includes Gisborne and Hawke's Bay.

For others it's a waiting game to see if employers will keep them on when the subsidy cash runs out.

Hawke's Bay reporter Tom Kitchin has the story.

Statues of British royalty, politicians, military leaders and explorers have been the most regularly attacked in recent decades.

Conversely, statues of artists and sportspeople have been left largely untouched.

The findings of an Otago University study comes as some question what we should do with depictions of historical figures with unsavoury pasts.

Jordan Bond reports.