Morning Report

Businesses are worried about whether they're doing the right thing in the grey area of employing immigrants while they are on reduced hours.

Migrant workers are also nervous they are breaching their visas - and about whether New Zealand may become less welcoming now that jobs are getting more scarce.

Selections of skilled workers who can apply for residence have now been suspended, along with some working holiday programmes and Pacific visa ballots.

An immigration lawyer, James McLeod, told our reporter Gill Bonnett that immigrants share everyone else's concerns about coronavirus, but have more reason to worry than most

The school holidays are over and 800,000 children are starting school again today from their own homes.

Because of the lockdown, they can't go to class so they are learning remotely instead using phone and internet.

Shyna Kesha from Napier's William Colenso College told RNZ education correspondent John Gerritsen the first step is to reconnect with students.

Doctors are concerned that a huge drop in emergency and acute patients at hospitals could be just the beginning of a healthcare "mess" that will need cleaning up in the aftermath of Covid-19.

The number of patients at emergency departments around the country has halved since the lockdown began and other hospital departments are reporting similar drops.

The Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, John Bonning, told reporter Kate Newton that the cancellation of elective surgery and many hospital clinics could have longer-term repercussions.

Small and medium sized businesses are getting three billion dollars worth of tax breaks to help them ride out the impending economic downturn. And doctors are worried a huge drop in emergency patients is just the beginning of a healthcare mess

We've been catching up with people around New Zealand to see how they're spending their time in lockdown.

Today we're talking to Reverend Hirini Kaa who is a Doctor and the Kaiarahi at the University of Auckalnd's Faculty of Arts.

Motor racing champions past and present have been paying tribute to Sir Stirling Moss who died at the weekend aged 90.

He's always been hailed as one of the sport's greatest drivers, despite never winning its ultimate prize - the Formula One world championship.

The dashing Englishman's name became a byword for speed and even nearly sixty years after a crash ended his racing career, police are still pulling over speeding motorists with the words - "who do you think your are? Stirling Moss?"

Current world champion Lewis Hamilton said he valued his friendship with Sir Stirling, saying - "We were two people from massively different times and backgrounds, but we clicked and ultimately found that the love for racing we both shared made us comrades".

American legend Mario Andretti said: "He was my hero and such a kind man beloved by everyone. He was a true giant."

One of Sir Stirling's greatest fans was the three-times world champion Sir Jackie Stewart.

He speaks to Susie Ferguson.

More than half Air New Zealand's fleet is being parked up at airports around the country.

But shutting down a jet plane is not a straight forward business and it will get more complicated the longer the lockdown lasts.

Rachel Thomas has been finding out exactly what needs to happen when you take a plane out of action.

Last week people were finally allowed to leave the Chinese city of Wuhan after 76 days of Covid-19 lockdown.

Some New Zealanders stuck there have booked the first available flights back home while others are still waiting to see how the outbreak continues to unfold both in China and here.

Chen Liu reports.

A group of concerned academics are calling for a significant loosening of restrictions as soon as New Zealand reaches the four week mark in its lockdown.

The group says the social and economic severity of the lockdown measures do not match the threat of the virus - and low risk people should be allowed to return to their normal activities.

However, the World Health Organisation, is advocating a slower return to business as usual.

Earlier Professor Michael Baker told Morning Report the lockdown should be eased carefully, with a gradual return to normal which could take many months. Dr Simon Thornley, an senior lecturer in epidemiology at Auckland University, speaks to Corin Dann.

A brief update of movements in the financial sector.