Morning Report

Christmas may be long gone, but some people are still waiting for their presents to be delivered.

New Zealand Post says it delivered nearly 15 million parcels - a record number - this holiday season, with a 97 percent on-time hit rate.

But some people have still be left empty handed, waiting for their parcels to arrive.

Elizabeth Thomson reports.

Leading sports stars, celebrities and politicians have been paying tribute to the US basketball star Kobe Bryant, who died when his helicopter crashed in California yesterday.

His 13-year-old daughter Gianna was also among the dead. Kobe Bryant was 41 years old, and one of the most celebrated athletes in American history.

His longtime teammate for the LA Lakers, Shaquille O'Neal, said there were no words to express his pain at the loss, and former president Barack Obama said Bryant was a legend on the court.

Crowds at basketball matches across the United States observed a moment of silence to pay tribute to the man many called 'the black Mamba'.

RNZ's correspondent in Los Angeles is Sandro Monetti.

An Auckland woman stuck in Wuhan with her young daughter says she hopes the New Zealand government can get them home.

Selina Huang took her six-year-old daughter back to her hometown to visit her parents and her return flight has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

She told our reporter Chen Liu that she doesn't know when the travel restrictions will be lifted and there's a possibility that it could take months.

We have translated her words.

As students flood back into schools this week, principals are having to make their own decisions about whether to take preventive action against the Coronavirus.

At least 80 people have died in China and thousands have been infected since the outbreak of the virus in Wuhan.

About half of the 20,000 international students expected in New Zealand schools this year will come from China.

A student arriving from there yesterday told RNZ that his Auckland school wanted him to stay away from classes for a week. But schools have not yet received any official advice that specific action is necessary.

Corin Dann speaks to Deidre Shea, president of the Secondary Principals Association.

A brief update on the movements in the financial sector.

A total watering ban comes into effect in Masterton in the Wairarapa from today.

Extremely low river levels in the Waingawa River - dropping below 1100 litres per second - have triggered the ban for the first time in more than 10 years.

That brings the town into line with restrictions throughout the rest of the region.

Masterton Mayor Lyn Patterson speaks to Corin Dann about it.

A children's charity is warning back to school costs are hitting families in hardship so badly it's stopping kids from going to school.

A KidsCan survey of 210 one to four decile schools found students were often absent on the all-important first day or week of school because they didn't have the supplies they needed.

In one case four brothers had to share one school shirt and so only one of them could be at school at a time.

Kaikoura High School deputy principal Jo Fissenden speaks to Corin Dann.

One of the country's biggest tourism operators is expecting to lose 10,000 visitors a month after China suspended all overseas group tours because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Industry leaders says re-scheduling of tours and thousands more cancellations are likely until the suspension lifts.

As of Tuesday morning the death toll was at 80 with more than 2000 people infected with the disease.

Eleisha Foon has more.

Scientists in China have confirmed the deadly coronavirus outbreak first jumped from animals to humans inside the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in the heart of city of Wuhan.

The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention say they successfully isolated the novel coronavirus in the samples from the market, indicating that the virus stems from wild animals on sale there.

David Hayman is a professor of Infectious Disease Ecology at Massey University and specialises in zoonotic diseases.

Nick Kyrgios says he has "made progress as a human" after his Australian Open ended with an honourable defeat by Spanish top seed Rafael Nadal.