Morning Report

While the Easter bunny is finding a safe, lockdown compliant way, to deliver chocolate treats this long weekend, many traditional celebrations are having to be shelved.

Services at churches and synagogues have been cancelled because of the level four restrictions.

But technology has come to the rescue and Easter baking favourites are still in hot demand, as Jonathan Mitchell reports.

A brief update from the business sector.

A family left out of a pocket for a trip to Europe is pleading with their agency to uphold a contract and refund their cash.

Covid-19 has turned the travel industry upside down, but should travel agencies be allowed to go back on promises of refunds?

Official advice says Government-imposed travel restrictions may override contracts but a lawyer says in this case, the family should get what they're owed.

Rachel Thomas reports.

Top stories this morning... The government is set to toughen border controls with mandatory quarantine imposed on everyone arriving in New Zealand The East Coast has just one case of Covid 19, but locals say more testing is needed to see if that's true Bernie Sanders pulls out of the race to become the Democratic presidential candidate

We've been checking in each day with people around the country to see what they're up to during the lockdown period.

Today we're talking to someone who's used to being by himself in confined spaces, singer-songwriter and long-distance solo sailor Andrew Fagan.

Can't remember the last time you let your hair down and threw that Bruce Springsteen album on the stereo or pulled out the latest grime release and gave the neighbours a lesson in contemporary dance music - at two a clock in the morning?

Well you're not the only one.

The figures are in and its gone quiet out there - so quiet you can actually hear the earth move.

Robin Martin has more.

Local authorities are facing their own pressures under lockdown, making sure everything behind the scenes keeps ticking.

Councils are having to maintain services with a limited number of people in crucial positions, a shortfall in income revenue and a change in focus with everyone at home.

Harry Lock reports.

Hundreds of businesses fear they will have to permanently close their doors as revenue dries up and ongoing bills take their toll.

The hospitality sector is bracing for a big hit, with one in five businesses telling a survey they doubt they can survive the pandemic.

Eva Corlett reports.

A brief update of movements in the financial sector.

Whanganui iwi are calling for a ban on the online sale of alcohol during lockdown out of fears it will cause a spike in family violence.

More liquor stores will begin to sell and deliver alcohol online after the government implemented new rules last Friday. 

Iwi leader Ken Mair says many whānau are under stress and he's appalled that the government is allowing hard liquor to be delivered to their doorstep.

RNZ Māori news correspondent Leigh-Marama McLachlan reports.