Morning Report

United States President Donald Trump's approval rating in the United States may not have fallen a lot within the country, but his stocks are certainly decling around the world.

Trump's decision to halt funding to the World Health Organisation has been derided around the world, with most saying now is not the time for such a drastic move.

The US is the biggest contributor to the WHO.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump's decision to halt funding senseless, dangerous and Illegal.

US correspondent Simon Marks speaks to Corin Dann.

A Wellington woman was swept into the sea and her husband was crushed against their house by his Landrover after huge waves battered the south coast yesterday.

Residents had to evacuate the area between Breaker Bay and Owhiro Bay as it was pounded by the six metre waves.

Owhiro Bay resident Robb Noble and his wife felt the full force of nature when he returned home after helping put sandbags on neighbouring properties.

He speaks to Corin Dann.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson has sent a clear signal the economy will look different once New Zealand emerges from the Covid-19 recession.

He told a business gathering yesterday the Government's first task was to fight the virus and cushion the blow, then it would look to kickstart the economy and after that the economy would need to be reset and rebuilt.

The head of the BERL economic consultancy, Ganesh Nana, told RNZ business editor Gyles Beckford the government will be a big part of the economy for years to come.

Health workers on the front line of the deadliest cluster of Covid-19 cases have only just been given access to the most protective type of face masks.

Six patients from the Rosewood Rest Home have died from Covid-19 after being transferred to Burwood Hospital and there are eight still being treated there with the disease.

But those caring for them have not been able to wear face visors and the safer, N-95 masks, until yesterday.

Health correspondent Rowan Quinn reports.

The head of the World Health Organization says he regrets President Trump's decision to pull funding for the organisation, but called on world unity to fight the new coronavirus pandemic.

The President said the WHO had failed in its basic duty in it's response to the coronavirus outbreak and blamed them for being biased towards China.

The US is the biggest contributor to the organisation, providing between $400 million and $500 million a year.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says they're still assessing the impact of the financial withdrawl.

Two top pandemic advisers to the Government say they have not seen crucial Covid-19 data, and some other data is weak, with five days to go till a decision on lockdown.

Epidemiologist Michael Baker says the data he needs to see to be confident of going to Level 3 may not exist yet.

Physicist professor Shaun Hendy says the testing data he is using has improved this week and is solid, but the contact tracing data is not.

Phil Pennington reports.

Many business owners say they have plans in place to safely operate once lockdown lifts.

They'll need to show they can operate safely with workers given plenty of space and good systems for contacting customers and suppliers.

RNZ spoke to a range of small and medium business owners who say they'll open only if they can do it safely.

Rachel Thomas reports.

An economist who first warned the government of the potential severity of the coronavirus crisis in mid-February says the country could be at Alert Level 2 within weeks.

Rodney Jones of Wigram Capital Advisors says daily modelling predicts new cases will fall below 10 next week but at the same time numbers in the US are expected to surge by hundreds of thousands.

Sharon Brettkelly reports.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The Council of Trade Unions says with more unemployment looming, Work and Income rules on benefits for people in relationships need to be scrapped.

Job seeker benefits can be cut to nothing depending on partners' incomes.

Council of Trade Unions economist Andrea Black speaks to Corin Dann.