Morning Report

Stocks of influenza-vaccine are being shifted to centres in short supply in a bid to get the most at-risk people vaccinated.

There are roughly 800,000 vaccines in the country, but due to the ordering process, some centres have ended up with more that others.

Eva Corlett reports.

The government is warning that unemployment could climb into the double digits as the fallout of Covid-19 continues.

New Zealand's unemployment rate has been in single digits since 1993.

Council of Trade Unions president Richard Wagstaff speaks to Susie Ferguson.

Overseas visitors are paying thousands of dollars for flights home or facing limbo in lockdown.

The tourism industry estimates about 100,000 visitors remain in the country.

Tourism reporter Tess Brunton spoke to travellers to find out how they're faring during lockdown.

The government is promising to provide extra funding to infrastructure projects that are ready to start in the next six months, as a way to boost the economy and create jobs.

New roads, better water infrastructure and the building or retrofitting of homes are on the table.

But documents obtained by RNZ show the Transport Agency was failing to deliver roading projects before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and some are wondering how they'll be able to deliver once it's all over.

RNZ reporter Ben Strang speaks to Susie Ferguson.

The government is expecting a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases after broadening its testing criteria. 

This means contact tracing capacities will need to be ramped up - and phone apps could help. 

Dr Andrew Chen is a research fellow at the University of Auckland's think tank Koi Tū -The Centre for Informed Futures. 

He speaks to Susie Ferguson.

A pregnant nurse is angry and upset that the DHB she works for is refusing to give her special leave during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The woman says her midwife has advised her to isolate herself because she is at heightened risk of serious complications if she catches the virus.

She told our senior correspondent, John Gerritsen, evidence from the SARS outbreak and influenza shows pregnant women are at higher risk of complications if they catch a virus like the coronavirus.

Her voice has been distorted to avoid identifying her.

Hutt Hospital has built a new intensive care unit in less than two weeks because of Covid-19.

It's one of several hospitals that've been racing the clock - and the virus - to get ready to face a possible onslaught of patients. For some it has been a battle because of the state of their buildings.

RNZ health correspondent Rowan Quinn reports.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson says the government will not allow New Zealand's media sector to implode as Covid-19 causes advertising revenue to plummet.

NZME has already closed one radio station indefinitely and MediaWorks has asked staff to take a 15 percent pay cut, due to the loss of revenue due to the crisis.

Robertson told Morning Report New Zealand can't become a country with only state-owned media.

"The state cannot be the only media and so we need to make sure that we continue to support plurality of media sources in NZ. How we do that will depend a little bit on where those media outlets end up."

It comes as a new scheme will offer a total of $6.25 billion in loans to New Zealand businesses.

It will allow those with annual revenue between $250,000 and $80 million to apply to their banks for loans of up to $500,000, for up to three years.

The Government is guaranteeing 80 percent of the risk, while the banks are covering the remaining 20 percent.

It comes as the government is warning that unemployment could climb into the double digits as the fallout of Covid-19 continues.

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub has said it could reach between 15 and 30 percent.

Click the link above to hear the full interview.

Some hospitals say they're being swamped with people wanting to be tested for Covid-19 since the rules about who can be tested were relaxed this week.

Many wanting the tests were showing no coronavirus symptoms.

Since the crisis began only people who'd been overseas, and those who'd had contact with them, were being tested.

The Government decided people with respiratory illnesses should also be tested but that's causing a new set of problems.

Mackenzie Smith reports.

More than 40 million masks are on the way to help protect frontline health workers after weeks of confusion and fear about the supply of Covid-19 equipment.

On top of that, up to 11 planes full of personal protection equipment are due to begin landing soon.

Phil Pennington reports.