The Mike Hosking Breakfast

At least 10 cases of Covid-19 are now linked to schools, universities and a pre-school as the Health Minister confirms an Auckland coolstore remains a key focus in solving the mystery of the outbreak.
None of the preschoolers or students are believed to have become ill after picking up the virus from the educational institution they attend. And, many of them weren't symptomatic when they were in class which has reduced the risk of exposure to staff and their peers.
The latest case is an AUT student, who tested positive for the virus on Sunday. It follows positive tests at both MIT and The University of Auckland.
Those three tertiary students are among 12 people in their late teens or 20s to have become sick since the latest outbreak began early last week.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins said today the source of the outbreak remained a mystery.
"One of the things we are testing is whether it came in on frozen goods," Hipkins told Mike Hosking, referring to the Americold coolstore in Mt Wellington.
That's where one of the positive cases - one of the coolstore workers - showed the earliest symptoms, on July 31.
Experts have cast doubt on whether Covid could have been picked up from imported goods but Hipkins said it needed to be investigated.
"The fact this all seems to have originated in a coolstore means we need to pursue that and look at that. We don't yet know how these people got this virus in the first place.
"The epidemiology suggests it has come from Australia or the UK because that's the epidemiological DNA of it but none of our cases in managed isolation match the same sort of fingerprint as the outbreak we have in Auckland. It's a mystery. Everyone can speculate but they are not based on facts."
Hipkins' comments came as the total number of cases in the country has reached 1271, after 13 new cases were confirmed yesterday - 12 in the community and one in managed isolation.
Other young people who have tested positive include a baby under the age of 1, two preschoolers, a boy aged between 5-9 and three students aged between 10-14.
Hipkins was confident all port, border and isolation/quarantine workers would be tested by the end of the week.
"There are a lot of them and while we have testing running at full bore we are prioritising those most at risk. Those who who are more likely to be people coming off the ships, or working on the ships," Hipkins told Hosking.
He said people working airside at Auckland Airport, dealing with passengers, were more at risk than, say, a coffee shop worker on the other side of the airport.
Hipkins insisted contact-tracing was operating at a gold standard level. "It's ultimately a human system. We are rapidly identifying people within 48 hours of them being identified as a contact and getting them tested when appropriate."
Hipkins said New Zealand was in the same consortiums as the UK and the US to help fund research and get access to a vaccine as quickly as possible. "We are doing everything we can to make sure we are at the front of the queue for that."
Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said all 12 community cases are Auckland-based and none had travelled outside of the region. All have a connection to the existing cluster.
In the AUT case it appears the alert level 3 lockdown came into force just at the right time to help reduce any potential further spread.
The student only started experiencing symptoms on Saturday, but authorities have determined their infection period began on Thursday.
In an email to all staff vice-chancellor Derek McCormack said the university understood the student's movements and physical interactions were limited to the MBA programme and specific areas of the city campus.
AUT campuses have been closed since Auckland moved up alert levels on Wednesday and were thoroughly cleaned that day.
The Ministry of Health also reported yesterday it was...

Pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to delay the September 19 election, with the National Party even saying a 2021 election would be acceptable.
National leader Judith Collins said today she had a "very cordial" conversation with Ardern yesterday and told her National preferred a new date of November 21.
The party would be fine if it was a little earlier than that, she told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking, but she did not believe it could happen on September 19.
"I said to Jacinda Ardern if you need to go to next year, we're happy with that, too. Just let us know and we're happy to give you the numbers in Parliament to make it happen."
Collins said election terms were very short in New Zealand, and a term of say three years and six months, was not a long extension.
"She would be very unwise to not move the date especially if there's another flare-up somewhere... that starts to look like we couldn't have a fair election and that opens all sorts of other options to people."
The parties needed time to release policies, and there would be not enough time or lead-up for a September 19 election, Collins said.
"Economically speaking it seems there's nothing in the bag when it comes to the current Government on policy. We will be putting our policies out. We want to continue to do that."
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters went as far as to imply it would be irresponsible for Ardern to keep the current date because of the outbreak of Covid-19.
Options previously put forward by the Electoral Commission are October 17 or November 21 - anything later would require Parliament to be recalled to lengthen the term.
The decision is solely that of Ardern, who will make an announcement on it at 10am.
Auckland's restrictions are set to be lifted on August 26 and the Electoral Commission - an independent body - has made plans for voting to happen safely under alert level 2, meaning there's nothing stopping the election going ahead.
But Ardern spent the weekend consulting with the leaders of each party.
Her office said "a range of views have been expressed that the Prime Minister has taken on board" and before announcing her decision Ardern would review the most up-to-date health information.
Yesterday there were 12 new cases in the community and one in managed isolation. All of the 49 active community cases could either be definitively traced to the Auckland cluster or were under investigation but considered likely to be connected.
Three people were being treated in hospital, including former Cook Islands Prime Minister Joe Williams, who is also a prominent GP for the Pasifika community.
And for the second day, more than 23,500 tests were processed, bringing the total to more than 63,000 in the past three days - meaning just 0.07 per cent of people swabbed have tested positive.
Despite the Auckland cluster appearing to be contained, the political pressure grew on Ardern yesterday with New Zealand First releasing a three-page letter from its leader Winston Peters to Ardern imploring her to consider later dates.
They now join National and Act in calling for a delay - making a political majority.
But Peters stopped short of saying his party would support a vote of no confidence in the Government if the election remained on September 19 and said he still had confidence in Ardern.

NZ First leader Winston Peters wants the election to be held on November 21. Photo / Alex Burton
The key concerns outlined in Peters' letter was the outbreak had "massively disrupted electioneering", low voter turnout, and keeping the Government's "sole focus" on the health response.
Community transmission had "fatally compromised" parties' ability to campaign, he said.
"The concept of holding a 'free and fair' election is directly related to the public's perceptions of political legitimacy, legitimacy of the outcome, as well as trust...

Every Friday morning, Mike Hosking is joined by Tim Wilson and Kate Hawkesby to wrap the week in news.
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In a first for the nation, more than one million Australians were out of work, available to work and actively looking for work last month.

Labour force figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released Thursday showed Australia’s jobless rate had increased just under 0.1 per cent from June to 7.5 per cent.
Economists had predicted it would be close to 8 per cent, while the effective unemployment rate stands at 9.9 per cent.
“For the first time there were more than one million people out of work, available to work and actively looking for work,” ABS spokesman Bjorn Jarvis said.
“The number of unemployed people rose by nearly 16,000 between June and July.”
In July 1,009,400 Australians were jobless, compared to 993,700 people in June.
Australia’s effective unemployment rate – which takes into account not only people who are officially unemployed but those who have left the labour force altogether or are on zero hours – dropped 1.3 per cent from 11.2 per cent in June.

However, employment increased with 114,700 jobs added between June and July 2020.

Full-time employment rose by 43,500 people and part-time employment by 71,200 people.
The largest increases in employment were recorded in New South Wales with 56,800 people now in work.
Seasonally adjusted figures show 308,600 people in NSW were jobless in July.
Almost 23,000 people in Victoria also got a job before stage four restrictions hit, and a further 19,100 people were employed in Western Australia.
Small decreases were seen in Queensland where 3700 more people found themselves out of work, and in the Northern Territory where 500 people were affected compared to June.

There's frustration from the business community, who are claiming the Government doesn't seem to have learnt much from the first lockdown.
Former Business New Zealand head Phil O'Reilly told Mike Hosking we're meant to be a team of five million, and normally teams assess what they did at half-time.
He says none of that learning or communication with the business community has gone on.
"The business community just has to suck it up because there's no news about the wage subsidy and no engagement with us between the last lockdown and this one."
O'Reilly says  the Government didn't come to the party last time, and he's not confident it will step up this time either.
He says the support needs to be well thought through, because it's not just about the wage subsidy, businesses need cashflow too.
"A lot of businesses are on the brink and this is likely to push them over."
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President Donald Trump on Thursday attacked Joe Biden for calling on governors to mandate that all Americans wear masks for the next three months, accusing the Democratic presidential candidate of politicizing an issue Trump himself has used for political gain in recent months.
Trump claimed Biden has been wrong about the coronavirus pandemic at every turn, “ignoring the scientific evidence and putting left-wing politics before facts and evidence." Trump went on to falsely say that Biden was advocating for the president to use executive power to institute a nationwide mask mandate and that Biden was in favor of “locking all Americans in their basements for months on end.”
“To Joe, I would say stop playing politics with the virus," Trump said at the White House press briefing.
Biden did not call for an executive order, but did at an earlier campaign event call for the institution of "a mask mandate nationwide, starting immediately.” Biden clarified, however, that it should be left up to the governors to make mask-wearing mandatory. He said nothing about keeping Americans indoors, but has argued that economic reopenings in states have been rushed and without proper guidance from the federal government to keep Americans safe.
Trump spent the early months of the pandemic refusing to wear a mask during public appearances, ridiculing reporters who wore them, and retweeting messages making fun of Biden for wearing a mask and implying that he looks weak. Trump first wore a mask in public about a month ago, during a visit to a military hospital, and has since expressed support for them at times.
On Thursday, he said it's patriotic for Americans to wear masks, but added, “maybe they're great, and maybe they're just good. Maybe they're not so good.”
Biden, at his earlier event, said all Americans should wear masks, citing health experts’ predictions that it could save 40,000 lives from the coronavirus over the next three months. The Democratic presidential candidate also responded to those who push back against such mandates.
“This is America. Be a patriot. Protect your fellow citizens. Step up, do the right thing.”
The back-and-forth marked a new line of attack from Trump, who is trailing Biden significantly in most nationwide and swing-state surveys. Biden has made what he says is Trump's mishandling of the pandemic — which has now caused the deaths of 166,000 Americans — a centerpiece of his attacks on the president.
While the president has charged that if Biden were elected he would cause everything from a stock market crash to a surge of crime in the suburbs, he has largely avoided taking Biden on when it comes to the pandemic, choosing instead to deflect blame for the deaths and economic damage.
On Wednesday, when the U.S. reported 1,499 new coronavirus deaths, the highest number in a single day since May, Trump pushed for schools and businesses to continue opening, and called for college football to go on despite several leading leagues deciding to cancel this year’s season.
On Thursday he again dismissed critics who say he was too slow to react to the pandemic in the U.S., saying on Fox Business Network that “nobody blames me.”
“Look, we got hit by the China plague and we’re not going to forget it. We got hit by the China plague,” he said.

There is disbelief just a third of front-line border staff have been tested for Covid-19.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins says it's now compulsory for all of them to be tested for the virus.
Auckland University medical Professor Des Gorman told Mike Hosking it's a level of poor management difficult to contemplate.
He says we should be paying fastidious attention to the border.
Gorman rated the Government's response as "somewhere between two and three" out of 10.
"I've seen health systems manage medical emergencies worse than this but it takes some doing," Gorman told Hosking. "It's like we're living in a parallel universe."
He was particularly astounded that only a third of border workers had been tested up until this week. "I thought someone was pulling my leg."
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At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.
Tuesday Night.
0/10.
"A sense of despondency, anger and disbelief."
Conspiracy Theories.
4/10.
"Too many people have gone mad.
There was nothing wrong with asking about the extraordinary coincidence between the government's new obsession with masks, testing, and lanyards. My word when Brownlee says the timing is interesting on Friday and Saturday, and by Tuesday he's right, can you blame suspicion?"
Supermarket Panic Buying and Elastic.
1/10.
"It's like we learned absolutely nothing."
The Labour Launch.
7/10.
"There was a sense it was officially underway.
And for political wonks it’s the best of times, no matter who you vote for."
The Greens.
6/10.
"Even when they tell you everyone gets a house.
It’s a just a reminder even the mad have a place in the political process."
Cars and Spending.
9/10.
"A record July for cars, all that holiday money turned into new wheels.
The tills were ringing as well. We were buying durables and food, and having a ball."
Kamala Harris .
8/10.
"It's a good ticket.
She, in many respects, outshines Joe Biden, which I think is the point.
Given if he wins he won't go a second time around."
The Warriors.
8/10.
"Two wins in a row, which at the best of times is a thrill, far less from the position of arduousness they currently face."
The Crusaders.
9/10.
"Winning, winning, winning.
They are as good a franchise in any sport, in any league, in any country."
LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW

Rotorua's Fat Dog cafe has been praised for being open and honest about being visited by a family with Covid-19 at the weekend.
Fat Dog alerted their customers to the incident via Facebook and the feedback in the comments had been overwhelmingly positive.
Owner Chris Powell said honesty was the best policy in this situation.
"To be honest, we kind of expected it. Fat Dog has been around a long time and we like to think we have at least one meal occasion when people come to Rotorua, so you know there's a good chance they came through.











"I think [customers] love the fact that we're being completely up front about it. As soon as we found out, we went public with the information and I think people really appreciate that honesty," he said.
Powell said the cafe, like many other hospitality businesses, had been following strict hygiene practices since lockdown which made it well placed to deal with an incident like this.
"It's about going through the process and I think every hospitality business in New Zealand has pretty strict cleaning processes anyway so as far as the deep clean goes, we're doing that every day.
"We put the bubble seating in early on in the piece, when we went through level three and two originally, so we had pretty good social distancing on Sunday, when the customers in question came in."
Powell said there were customers in the cafe having breakfast this morning and he had even had a former staff member offer their services.
"The staff [ who were working on Sunday] understand, they're all self-isolating and getting tested. We have a large team so we've swapped the teams out and got a different team on today. It will be interesting to see how customers react.
"We've had ex-staff come back and support us and one has come back on board to help us get through while we have staff off."
Further information about where two people who tested positive for Covid-19 visited while in Rotorua has been released.
They include the Fat Dog cafe on Sunday, August 9 between 1.30pm and 2.30pm, Burger Fuel Redwoods on August 10 between 7pm and 8pm, Wai Ora Lakeside Hotel on Saturday August 8 from 3.30pm until Tuesday August 11 at 9am, Herbs & Spices Thai Restaurant on Saturday August 8 from 8pm to 9pm, Pak'nSave Rotorua on Sunday August 9 from 2.30pm to 3pm, Rotorua Heritage Farm 3D Art Gallery on Monday August 10 from 3pm to 4.30pm, Skyline Rotorua on Sunday August 9 from 4pm to 5:50pm, Don Kebab on Monday August 10 from 7pm to 7:30pm.
A Lakes DHB spokeswoman confirmed all affected businesses were contacted by Toi Te Ora-Public Health between 4pm and 7pm yesterday.

Didn’t the week start so well, eh? The Warriors had won twice in a row from a lockdown of their own, the Crusaders wrapped up the rugby a week early, and we had the sell out this weekend.
Those were the days when we had sport, crowds, and cafes sold you coffee.
By Tuesday that was shattered. A lot was shattered, like the delusion that an elimination strategy can actually work. That’s the big question going forward, once again we ask, what's our plan? Beyond taking this day by day, oiling the squeaky wheel with welfare money we don’t have, how are we going to face the world? Deal with the world? Be a part of the world? Especially in a world where elimination, short of a vaccine isn't happening, and we sit isolated with a failed policy.
Or are we happy with  the way we are doing this? Is this weeks disappointment and despondency, not to mention anger and frustration, just the way it is?
A couple of months of freedom, then a lockdown. Start your business, stop your business. Do we think we can afford that?
Which is why we should also talk about the election, it needs delaying if Auckland goes beyond tonight. Level Two is hardly the end of the world, Level Three is no longer a level playing field. Campaigns need to be run, policies released, debates had, questions asked, and examinations conducted. That is how we do it, and it's how we expect to do it. Upending it makes this even more political than it already is. And make no mistake, this is highly political.
The Prime Minister gets a pulpit every day. No other political party enjoys that. They made this a Covid election, they called it a Covid election.
As we end this week, there is a palpable change in mood from what we felt like last week, and from what we felt last time.
Last time it was fear and the unknown, this time it’s a gutting disappointment. A realisation that elimination isn't real, and never was.
And a sense given what we've learned over the months about PPE, testing, the flu jab, the likelihood this latest mess is a border slip up, like the last border slip up where there wasn't testing and Thelma and Louise were on the run to Wellington, the trust in the government is drying up for good reason. That’s actually why we have elections, reputations and records are tested.
We really need to start thinking and talking big picture.
But for right now, let's hope midnight tonight is it.