Morning Report

DHBs around the country are placing travel restrictions on staff in an effort to maintain staffing levels during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Staff at Auckland and Northland DHBs have been told if they go on holiday overseas and have to self-isolate on return, they'll have to take unpaid or annual leave and will be unable to use sick leave or special paid leave.

Sarah Dalton is executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists.

She speaks to Corin Dann.

National has released a list of the first regulations it will scrap if elected - and the Government's proposed rental law changes is in the firing line.

The party's leader, Simon Bridges, has vowed to do away with two regulations for every new one introduced - what he's calling a 'bonfire of regulations'.

The new heating standards for rentals would be axed - as would plans to limit rent rises to just once every 12 months.

Simon Bridges is the leader of the National Party.

He speaks to Susie Ferguson.

As coronavirus fears and oil price disruption batter world markets, the head of the New Zealand Super Fund says it's important not to get spooked.

The fund, which is worth $45 billion, exists to help pay for future government superannuation for all New Zealanders.

Chief executive Matt Whineray says the fund's long-term objectives mean it can survive market volatility.

He speaks to Corin Dann.

Italy has extended its emergency coronavirus measures, which include travel restrictions and a ban on public gatherings, to the entire country.

Yesterday Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte ordered people to stay home and seek permission for essential travel.

He said the measures were designed to protect the most vulnerable.

"There is no more time," he said in a TV address.

Italy's coronavirus death toll jumped from 366 to 463 on Monday.

It is the worst-hit country after China.

Italy correspondent Josephine McKenna speaks to Susie Ferguson.

Global stock markets remain unsteady after the huge falls yesterday.

Markets in London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam surged by more than three per cent in early trading and earlier, Asian markets also rebounded.

The Dow jumped 3.3 percent. The S&P 500 rose 2.9 percent and the Nasdaq was up 2.7 percent on early trading Oil prices have risen by more than eight per cent, following a thirty per cent fall.

Yesterday President Donald Trump said he will be meeting with Senate and House Republicans to discuss "a possible tax relief measure" that would provide "a timely and effective response to the coronavirus".

Michael Mackenzie is a markets editor at the Financial Times and speaks to Corin Dann.

The New Zealand women's footballers have been beaten 2-1 by Norway in the third place playoff at the Algarve Cup in Portugal.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

An epidemiologist says hospital resources, like beds and ventilators would be stretched if the coronavirus reaches a community outbreak.

University of Otago senior lecturer in infectious diseases, Ayesha Verrall told RNZ reporter Charlotte Cook public health management to prevent or contain a large outbreak will need to be managed over a couple of years.

A Kiwi couple's trip of a lifetime to Italy has been severely curtailed by Covid 19.

When they left New Zealand, there were a few cases, by yesterday the Italian government had put the whole country into lockdown.

All public gatherings have been banned and people must now seek permission to travel.

Elinor Harper-Spiller speaks to Corin Dann from Rome

In Covid-19 developments overnight, more than 116,000 people have now been infected with Covid-19 across the world; and over 4000 have died.

Mainland China reported less than 20 new cases yesterday - and Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited Wuhan, the city of 11-million people where the outbreak began.

It's being seen as a sign that authorities' efforts to control the virus are working.

Containment efforts continue to ramp up across much of Europe and the Middle East, with several countries closing their borders for people from coronavirus-affected countries, and limiting public gatherings.

The official number of fatalities in Italy has risen from 463 to 631 in the last 24 hours.

The country's streets are nearly deserted, after the government announced an unprecedented lockdown - extending quarantine measures across the entire country in a bid to slow the disease down.

People can now only go out for work and emergencies, while all public gatherings and sporting events are suspended. Austria has announced a ban on people entering the country from Italy unless they carry a medical certificate, it has also banned indoor gatherings of more than 100 people.

In France, gatherings of over 1000 people have been banned.

The European Commission, the EU's executive, estimates Italy and France were now at risk of a technical recession.

Spain has reported 1,622 cases, almost half in the Madrid area, and all Spanish sport is to be played behind closed doors until April.

In the Netherlands a large group of hospital staff have tested positive for the illness.

One of Poland's top armed forces generals has tested positive for the virus after returning from a military conference in Germany.

Closer to home Australia has announced a $30 million public health campaign.

There are now 100 confirmed cases in the country, most in New South Wales.