Morning Report

Farmers are describing the small amount of rain that fell in Northland overnight as a tease rather than a drought-breaker.

Sheep and beef farmers have been de-stocking to try to cope with the dry.

John Blackwell is the federated farmers president for Northland.

He speaks to Philippa Tolley.

A human trial of a vaccine against coronavirus in the US has been given a dose to its first participant.

This is the first of a group of 45 healthy volunteers to be given the jab, at the Kaiser Permanente research facility, in Seattle.

Each volunteer will receive an injection over a six-week time frame.

"The first participant received the investigational vaccine today," the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a statement on Monday.

Experts say it will still take many months to know if this vaccine, or others also in research, will work.

Kiwis are tossing up whether or not to take the kids to the indoor playground, or head to the gym, as fear grows about Covid-19.

Some businesses are putting extra precautions in place, to reassure people that if they are well, it's clean and safe to visit.

RNZ reporter Sarah Robson went to find out what they're doing.

The Covid-19 travel deadline has turned a boys' weekend at the Melbourne Grand Prix into a nightmare for a Dunedin travel agent desperately trying to get people home.

The virus clampdown has forced thousands of people into self-isolation, including a Tall Black basketball player, disrupting family and work life.

Phil Pennington reports.

Irish bars around Wellington say they're cracking on with St Patrick's Day events as planned for this afternoon, but not without taking extra precautions.

Checking arrival dates on customers' passports, equipping staff with hand-sanitiser, and wiping down the curtains are just some of the lengths the bars are going to.

Harry Lock has this report.

Māori health providers are setting up health phone lines and isolation rooms in case Covid-19 spreads to their communities. 

They say Māori are especially vulnerable to the virus because of higher rates of chronic illnesses, poorer quality housing and less access to primary healthcare services.  

Meriana Johnsen reports.

A brief update on the movements in the financial sector.

More evidence has emerged about immigration officials using artificial intelligence to help them decide whether to let people into the country.

Immigration specialists say visa applicants are unaware they are being profiled and classified from low to high risk. One immigration adviser describes them as unwitting swimmers in crocodile infested waters.

Gill Bonnett reports

As more and more events are being cancelled or postponed there are chances this year's general election will not go ahead.

Polling day is meant to be September the 19th but how likely is that?

Andrew Geddis is a Otago University law professor and electoral law expert.

Yesterday the Reserve Bank slashed the official cash rate to a record low 0.25 percent.

The US Federal Reserve also cut its interest rates again yesterday - this time to near zero.

The Reserve Bank's chief economist Yuong Ha told our Business Editor Gyles Beckford other financial moves may be needed here as the economic ground keeps shifting while countries deal with Covid-19.