The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Officials in Scotland ordered bars, cafes and restaurants in the city of Aberdeen to close Wednesday, re-imposing anti-virus restrictions after a cluster of 54 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the area was linked to a single bar.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the new cases raised wider alarm of a “significant outbreak” of the coronavirus emerging in the northeastern port city.
Aberdeen officials published a list of 28 bars and restaurants, three golf clubs and a soccer club visited by about 200 people so far traced from the cluster.
Sturgeon said all hospitality venues in the city of about 229,000 residents need to be closed by the end of business Wednesday. Visitors were advised not to travel to the city, and residents should not travel more than 5 miles (8 kilometers) from their homes unless for work or essential trips.
Entering other people's houses was also prohibited as part of the local lockdown.
Extra police officers will be on the streets in Aberdeen to ensure residents comply with the renewed restrictions, which will be reviewed in one week and may be extended, if necessary.
“The last thing we want to do is to reimpose these restrictions, but this outbreak is reminding us just how highly infectious COVID is,” Sturgeon said.
Sturgeon has taken a much more cautious approach to easing lockdown measures than British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The official coronavirus death toll in the U.K. as a whole stands at 46,299. England has seen the largest increase in death rates in Europe.
Across Scotland, Sturgeon said a total 18,781 people have tested positive for the virus, up by 64 from the day before.
Also Wednesday, a scathing report by British lawmakers said that the scale and pace of infections in the U.K. could have been slowed down had the government imposed quarantine restrictions on travellers earlier on during the pandemic.
The report by the Home Affairs Committee said some 10,000 people with COVID-19 may have entered or returned to the country in March - when the infection rate in Spain, Italy and France was rapidly increasing.
Lawmakers slammed the British government’s “completely inexplicable” decision to lift all border restrictions that month.
“The U.K. was almost unique in having no border checks or quarantine arrangements at that time,” committee chair Yvette Cooper said.
Britain asked travelers from some countries to voluntarily self-quarantine in February and early March, but the government lifted all border restrictions on March 13. A mandatory quarantine was introduced in June, but many countries were later added to a “safe list” exempted from the requirement.
A government spokeswoman said the committee’s claims were “incorrect” and that all public health policy has been “guided by the science.”

Investigators began searching through the wreckage of Beirut's port for clues to the cause of the massive explosion that ripped across the Lebanese capital, and the government ordered port officials put under house arrest amid speculation that negligence was to blame.
The investigation is focusing on how 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilisers, came to be stored at the facility for six years, and why nothing was done about it.
International aid flights began to arrive as Lebanon's leaders struggled to deal with the shocking aftermath of the blast, crippled by an economic crisis and facing a public that blames chronic mismanagement and corruption among the ruling elite for the disaster.
The explosion at the port killed at least 135 people and wounded about 5,000, Health Minister Hamad Hassan said. Hospitals were overwhelmed — one that was damaged in the blast had to evacuate all its patients to a nearby field for treatment. Buildings were damaged for miles around the city, and Beirut's governor said that hundreds of thousands might not be able to return to their homes for two or three months.
It was the worst, most destructive single explosion to strike Lebanon in a history filled with destruction, in a 1975-1990 civil war, conflicts with Israel and periodic terror attacks.

Smoke rises from the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon. Photo / AP
A senior U.S. Defense Department official and member of the U.S. intelligence community said there were no indications the massive explosion that erupted on Tuesday evening (Wednesday NZT) in Lebanon's capital was the result of an attack by either a nation state or proxy forces.
Both individuals spoke to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss intelligence briefings publicly. Both officials told the AP that at the moment, the explosion seems to have been caused by improper storage of explosives.
Fueling speculation that negligence was to blame for the accident, an official letter circulating online showed the head of the customs department had warned repeatedly over the years that the huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate stored in a hangar in the port was a danger, and asked judicial officials for a ruling on a way to remove it.
Ammonium nitrate is a component of fertiliser that is potentially explosive. The 2,750-ton cargo had been stored at the port since it was confiscated from a ship in 2013, and it is believed to have detonated after a fire broke out nearby.
The 2017 letter from the custom's chief to a judge could not be immediately confirmed, but state prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat ordered security agencies to start an immediate investigation into all letters related to the materials stored at the port as well as lists of people in charge of maintenance, storage and protection of the hangar.
In the letter, the customs chief warns of the "dangers if the materials remain where they are, affecting the safety of (port) employees" and asked the judge for guidance on what to do with it. He said five similar letters were sent in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The letter proposes the material be exported or sold to a Lebanese explosives company. It is not known if there was ever a response.
President Michael Aoun vowed before a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (local time) that the investigation would be transparent and that those responsible will be punished.
"There are no words to describe the catastrophe that hit Beirut last night," he said.
After the meeting, the Cabinet ordered an unspecified number of Beirut port officials put under house arrest pending the investigation and declared a two-week state of emergency, effectively giving the military full powers during this time.

People clean up after a massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Photo / AP
The government also said public schools and...

A Government advisor says New Zealanders will need to get used to the idea of looser border restrictions.
A New Zealand Herald Kantar Vote 2020 poll shows 68 per cent of people think our border policy should be kept as it is.
But Rob Fyfe, who's advising the Government on its Covid 19 response, told Mike Hosking the policy will need to change.
He's calling for more people into the country, sooner than the Government is currently planning to do.
"We could be waiting a long time for a vaccine, the flu vaccine which is available every year doesn't stop people getting the flu."
Grant Robertson says the Government is working to get more people into the country, but only where it's safe to do so.
He says the Government is already bringing some people in, but won't compromise the gains New Zealand has made in fighting Covid 19.
For the full results see NZ Herald Premium.
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The Minister of Finance is sounding a warning New Zealand is unlikely to escape global economic fallout from Covid-19, with unemployment numbers expected to swell close to 10 per cent in coming months.
Grant Robertson today told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking yesterday's shock unemployment rate drop to 4 per cent in the June was a "good result" but the next three months were expected to see the pendulum swing the other way.
"The economic hit of this crisis is going to be felt most acutely in the September quarter and obviously we'll see that data in a few month's time," said Robertson.
With the Government wage subsidy coming to an end on September 1, Treasury is forecasting unemployment to reach just under 10 per cent in the next quarter.
Robertson said despite the grim forecast New Zealand could be helped by having come out of lockdown quicker than originally expected and the current level of economic activity.
Asked what he thought it would ultimately reach Robertson replied: "I'm certainly working on not getting into double digit areas.
"The issue we've got though is the rest of the world because while we've got things happening in our economy everybody can see the stories from overseas about things getting worse.
"That will ultimately have an impact on New Zealand so for now it's probably best to look just one quarter at a time and we're looking to keep under 10 per cent for that September quarter."
Robertson today urged banks to keep helping customers through this difficult time saying through measures put in place by the Reserve Bank and government stimulus packages there was every reason for them to support viable businesses and households.
"It's important that they see this as a one-in-100-year event, recognise they've got strong support from the Reserve Bank and the Government and get alongside New Zealanders."
He said with the wage subsidy coming to an end in a few week's time he was confident it was not finishing early. Targeted support remained in place with the income relief payment and business loans.
"The kind of package that we've put out amounts to all up around 20 per cent of GDP so I feel like we're doing what we need to do alongside the Reserve Bank."
Though he admitted come September 2 there could be some tough times ahead.
"It's certainly going to be difficult for some people who do end up losing their jobs when the wage subsidy extension ends but that won't be the case for every single person on the wage subsidy extension."
Many businesses were now operating well and some were even re-employing people they had earlier laid off during lockdown.
In the meantime with two former prime ministers calling on the Government to allow more people to come into the country, Robertson said he was looking at how to best manage the border and was currently exploring going down this path but it was something that need care.
"We've got to keep New Zealanders safe. That's our first priority no matter what. Yes, those who are helping the economy tick over, we're already bringing some of those people in and we need to make sure we lift our capacity but we cannot compromise the gains we've made."
Robertson said the Government was in talks with universities about allowing foreign students into the country and working how to do that in a safe way.



"We've got to make sure these facilities are absolutely top-notch because we do not want to see in New Zealand what happened in Melbourne."He said he was relatively agnostic about who ran the managed isolation facilities but the rules and regulations around it, including having a high level of quality assurance, were vital in keeping the community safe and free from Covid-19.

A Facebook page started to help small businesses during Covid has blossomed into a brand new online shopping platform.
Sarah Colcord started the 'New Zealand Made Products' page after she found it hard to promote her own business, and it quickly grew to half a million fans.
The 24-year-old's capitalising on that success, re-branding the Facebook page as Chooice  and starting an online market of her own.
She told Mike Hosking that what Covid has highlighted is that there was a gap in New Zealand's digital eco-system for homegrown marketplace 
"We think that Chooice is the first step forwards to closing that gap."
She says that it is similar to Amazon as people sell through the platform, and people can search for whatever they want. 
Colcord has also kept fees to a minimum, as they want to ensure businesses can keep as much cash as they can. 
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Labour says the Government's amped up Covid-19 messaging isn't a political campaign, and National agrees.
A refreshed Covid-19 campaign is reminding New Zealanders to "Be Ready" and seek medical advice if they have symptoms.
Speaking to Mike Hosking, Police Minister Stuart Nash refutes claims the 'say yes to the test' is a 'political campaign around election time.'
"This is not a political campaign. There is no doubt about that."
National's Mark Mitchell agrees.
I think that's it's genuine. We have to keep testing, we're not out of the woods yet.
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Victorian Police Commissioner Shane Patton has detailed a “shameful” and “disgraceful” incident in a bayside Melbourne suburb last night after a woman was approached for failing to wear a mask outside.
He was describing the challenges facing officers as individuals across Victoria refuse to obey the chief health officer’s COVID-19 stage four lockdown rules.
“In particularly one incident ... to highlight the type of challenges that we’re experiencing ... last night a 26-year-old policewoman was on patrol with another partner down in a Frankston area near the Bayside shopping centre,” he told reporters.
“During that time, they approached a 38-year-old woman, who wasn’t wearing a mask. After a confrontation and being assaulted by that woman, those police officers went to ground and there was a scuffle.
“And during that scuffle, this 38-year-old woman smashed the head of the policewoman several times into a concrete area on the ground. That behaviour is just totally unacceptable.
“That’s someone who thinks they’re above the law. They’re not wearing a mask. They’re approached and asked the reason why not and then to react like that is just completely over the top. It’s this type of irresponsible behaviour that we’re going to address.”
Mr Patton said the woman was charged with “significant offences”.
“She was granted bail because she did not have a criminal history,” he said.
“It shows how things can escalate from non-adherence.
“The message is clear from me and it’s simple. We want you to stay at home. We want you to stay at home.”
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews called the conduct “shameful”. But it was one of several incidents police have been forced to deal with in recent days.
Mr Patton said that “on at least four occasions in the last week” police have been forced to “smash the windows of cars and pull people out to provide details because they weren’t adhering to the chief health officer guidelines”.
The Premier today cracked down on people who are refusing to follow the rules. He announced an on-the-spot fine of $4657 for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are not self-isolating when members of the Australian Defence Force “randomly” knock on doors.
The fine could reach $20,000 if it is taken before the courts and found to be legitimate.
“You’ll understand why I’m not going to give people the program of doorknocking but there will be multiple doorknocks and they will be random in nature,” Mr Andrews said.
“Those doorknocks. You’re expected to be found at home.”

National says it would honour the commitments already made in the Provincial Growth Fund, if it becomes the next government.
The fund has come under scrutiny, in a report by the Auditor-General.
It makes three recommendations around the fund's effectiveness and transparency in decision making.
National regional development spokesman Michael Woodhouse told Mike Hosking there's a number of ways they can change the fund, so it invests in regions and jobs.
"What we need to do is invest in projects that will create jobs, such as water infrastructure and broadband."
National has criticised the lack of data around the Provincial Growth Fund.
Woodhouse says it's been two and a half years, and we're still unsure how many jobs have been created.
'We need to make sure projects are creating sustainable employment in the regions, but we don't have information to prove that."
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Victorian authorities have imposed some of the toughest restrictions in the world on residents living in Melbourne.
As of yesterday, the Australian state has 6706 active cases.
The Australian reporter Rachel Baxendale told Mike Hosking officials haven't been able to find the source for more than 2100 cases.
She says it's a pretty awful situation because there's another 3400 or so cases still under investigation.
Australians in Victoria who break Covid-19 stage four restrictions will face a hefty fine - as officials struggle to bring the virus under control.
Premier Daniel Andrews says there are $5000 spot fines for those who breach the rules, and repeat offenders will  end up in court.
He says the maximum penalty is $20,000 dollars.
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In the early days of the coronavirus crisis, President Donald Trump was flanked in the White House briefing room by a team of public health experts in a seeming portrait of unity to confront the disease that was ravaging the globe.
But as the crisis has spread to all reaches of the country, with escalating deaths and little sense of endgame, a chasm has widened between the president and the experts. The result: daily delivery of a mixed message to the public at a moment when coherence is most needed.
Trump and his political advisers insist that the United States has no rival in its response to the pandemic. They point to the fact that the U.S. has administered more virus tests than any other nation and that the percentage of deaths among those infected is among the lowest.
“Right now, I think it’s under control,” Trump said during an interview with Axios. He added, “We have done a great job.”
But the surge in infections, hospitalizations and deaths tells a different story. And it suggests that the president is increasingly out of step with the federal government’s own medical and public health experts.
The U.S. death toll, which now stands at 155,000, is expected to accelerate. The latest composite forecast from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects an average of nearly 1,000 deaths per day through Aug. 22.
Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus task force coordinator, warned this week that the virus has become “extraordinarily widespread."
Trump didn't like that. He dismissed her comment as “pathetic” and charged she was capitulating to criticism from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had earlier criticized Birx.
Adm. Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary of Health and Human Services who has avoided contradicting the president throughout the crisis, said on Sunday it was time to “move on” from the debate over hydroxychloroquine, a drug Trump continues to promote as a COVID-19 treatment even though there is no clear evidence it is effective.
Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the CDC, last week acknowledged during an ABC News interview that the initial federal government response to the virus too slow.
“It’s not a separation from the president, it’s a cavernous gap,” said Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University. “What we’re seeing is that scientists will no longer be cowed by the White House.”
Until recently, the medical experts on the White House coronavirus task force have walked a tightrope. They have been pressing to deliver the best science to the public while trying to avoid appearing to directly contradict Trump — in hopes of maintaining influence in the decision-making process.
The effort has played out, at moments, as an awkward dance.
For months now, the West Wing has controlled the media schedule of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who drew the ire of the president and his advisers in the early days of the pandemic because of the outsized media attention he received and his perceived willingness to contradict the president, according to three White House officials and Republicans close to the West Wing not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.
Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, has struck a far more cautious tone than Trump or any other member of the task force about the nation’s move to “reopen,” provoking the frustration of a president who sees a resurgent economy as key to winning another four years in office.
Birx, until recently, had largely stayed on the president’s good side, though her rosy depictions of the pandemic fight drew recent skepticism from Democrats and other public health officials. But Trump also shredded Birx privately as well as in his public comments this week for not striking a more optimistic tone about states that are doing well and for saying she had “tremendous respect” for Trump’s rival Pelosi, the officials said.
Throughout the pandemic,...