Morning Report

The second full week of the new normal is almost over most New Zealanders are holed up at home, and relying on essential workers to keep the country running.

Supermarkets workers are bearing the brunt of some of customers' lockdown stress.

Staff have experienced a 600 percent rise in abuse from customers, including biting, spitting and scratching.

Kiri Hannifin from Woolworths NZ, which owns Countdown, Fresh Choice and Supervalue supermarkets, speaks to Susie Ferguson.

Holiday hotspots around the country will be on high alert this weekend for people coming to spend Easter at their holiday homes, despite the government and police saying its against the lockdown rules.

Rachel Reese, mayor of Nelson and Tenby Powell, mayor of Tauranga, speak to Corin Dann.

Fourteen days away from the big decision over whether we can move out of lockdown big questions remain over how the country will be able to stamp out flareups of Covid-19.

Experts agree, rapid, mass tracing of all a sick person's close contacts is the most vital weapon against the virus - and that tracing under lockdown is far far easier than once it's lifted.

Phil Pennington reports.

For anyone thinking that the end of a Level Four lockdown will automatically mean the kids can go back to school, take a deep breath.

Minister of Education Chris Hipkins has made it clear there will be no rush back into classrooms.

The Minister yesterday unveiled a package of study resources for schools, students and parents to help them with remote study.

The Opposition says assisting remote learning is good, but schools are also reporting significant financial challenges, and these need attention too.

National's education spokesperson Nikki Kaye speaks to Susie Ferguson.

Principals are worried further lockdowns could harm children's education.

The government has warned that schools might not reopen as soon as the current shut down is over and it is preparing for all scenarios.

It has launched an $88 million package for schools including distributing 17,000 laptop and chromebook computers, internet connections for thousands of homes, two educational TV channels, and thousands of paper-based resource packs.

Here's RNZ education correspondent, John Gerritsen.

News is only just starting to emerge of the devastation of Vanuatu's northern islands, which were hit by Category 5 Cyclone Harold on Monday.

Communications to the islands were knocked out during the storm, on Monday, and we are only now beginning to discover the scale of the destruction.

New Zealander Glen Craig was in the first plane to arrive there, and reports scenes of massive destruction.

He speaks to Corin Dann.

The latest international news about Covid-19.

More than 1.44 million people have now been infected worldwide, 82,000 have died according to Johns Hopkins University.

France has become the fourth country to register more than 10,000 deaths due to coronavirus.

After 76 days, the lockdown in the Chinese city of Wuhan has been lifted, though not everyone though will be able to leave their homes.

Flights in and out of the city, which is where the coronavirus first broke out, have resumed.

Wuhan, a city of 11 million, had more than 50,000 people infected and more than 2,500 of them died, about 80 percent of all the deaths in China.

In the UK, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has given an update on Boris Johnson's condition.

He is said to be stable in intensive care.

The World Trade Organisation is warning the coronaviris pandemic could provoke the deepest economic recession of our life time.

The grim prediction comes on the day France and Germany both confirmed they've seen a dramatic contraction in their economies.

Senior WTO figures in Geneva say global trade could fall by as much as a third because of the outbreak.

Bernie Sanders is out of the race to be US president.

The self-described "democratic-socialist" has suspended his campaign and cleared the way for Joe Biden to run for President.

US correspondent Simon Marks speaks to Susie Ferguson.

Bernie Sanders has pulled out of the race for the US presidency clearing the the way for former vice-president Joe Biden to become the Democratic party's nominee.

Sanders, a democratic socialist whose progressive agenda pulled the party sharply to the left, made the announcement just a few hours ago.

The Opposition doubts the public will be ready for an election in September.

It's increasingly likely some parts of the country will still be living under varying kinds of lockdown when September 19 rolls around.

While the Electoral Commission is already working on alternative ways of collecting votes, the National Party is sceptical about whether a new system can be trusted.

RNZ political reporter Jo Moir has this story.