Morning Report

A brief update on the movements in the financial sector.

Thousands of New Zealanders are expected to be working from home today.

Bart de Vries is a personal workspace and behaviour expert and he says working from home will be difficult for many people.

He speaks to Corin Dann.

The Government has told the Commerce Commission now is not the time for strict competition rules to get in the way of responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi has written to the commission suggesting it take a more lenient approach.

He says the Government will not tolerate businesses using the pandemic as an excuse for bad behaviour, but sectors like supermarkets and telecommunications may need to work in a more collaborative way.

Faafoi was not willing to be interviewed this morning but we can talk now to the chair of the Commerce Commission, Anna Rawlings.

New rules covering bars, restaurants and casinos came into effect at the weekend.

As well as customers needing to stay at least a metre away from each other, venues are now expected to do head counts to make sure there are no more than a hundred people indoors.

They're required to keep a register of guest details with full name, address and contact phone and email details but the rules weren't widely publicised before the weekend, resulting in some confusion.

Julie White is chief executive of Hospitality NZ, which worked with the government on the guidelines.

GPs have been told to immediately switch to talking to patients by phone or online before granting a face-to-face appointment.

The College of General Practitioners says from today, all GPs should do initial consultations from a distance.

Patients requiring face-to-face appointments will get them, but only after an assessment of their needs.

Dr Bryan Betty is the college's medical director.

He speaks to Susie Ferguson.

The Reserve Bank is to buy back up to $30 billion of government bonds to give further support to economy.

RNZ business editor Gyles Beckford speaks to Corin Dann.

The International Olympic Committee is considering a postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Games - and has given itself a deadline of four weeks to make a decision.

As more cases of Covid-19 arise, people are being cautioned to work from home or stay home if sick, but what if you don't have a home?

Agencies working with the homeless community worry that people living on the street will be left behind, if there is a community outbreak of Covid-19.

RNZ's housing reporter Eva Corlett filed this report.

Indoor venues in Australia including pubs, clubs and churches will be shut from noon today in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Restaurants and cafes will be allowed to offer takeaway services only.

Schools will remain open for now.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison slammed people who crammed on to Bondi beach and into pubs and clubs at the weekend and said it forced the government to impose harsher rules.

Morrison also announced another $66 billion boost to the economy to help people and businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic.

Corin Dann speaks to ABC Sydney's Scott Levi, who says not everything is affected by the shutdown.

Money has been pooled together to help specifically target Māori in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

It comes after the government came under pressure and were criticised for not delivering to Māori in the response to the virus.

But, yesterday it announced $56 million to go towards a range of ways to support Māori communities and businesses.

RNZ Māori Māni Dunlop reports.