The Ministry of Social Development is moving its services to phone and online only with work and income offices shut as the country goes into lockdown; and all construction work on the Auckland City Rail Link will stop immediately, as the country prepares to go into lockdown.
1.On the day before the national lockdown begins people again queuing up at supermarkets, despite pleas from store owners and the Government to shop normally. Panic buying yesterday saw enough food to feed 10 million people taken from the supermarket shelves.
2.The Alcohol Beverages Council is calling for calmers bottle stores subjected to massive panic buying. The Council’s executive director Bridget MacDonald says stores around the country are busier than at christmas time.
3.Figures from the eftpos provider Paymark show yesterday’s supermarket spend was surpassed only by the total paid out last Christmas Eve. Spending at Pharmacies was up 122 percent on the same Monday last year.
4.People are struggling to get on last minute flights before the new travel restrictions come into place from 11:59 on Wednesday night.
5.A traveler is calling on the Government to get her home from London after her stopover in Singapore was blocked. Luchiya Afanasy booked flights with Air New Zealand for Wednesday via Singapore at midnight on Monday, Singapore closed its borders to all tourists.
6.In Auckland about 30 British citizens are queuing up outside the country’s closed consulate office, desperate but unable to get back. The UK Government has urged all its citizens to fly home. But most of the group this morning had their flights cancelled by airlines.
7.All construction work on the Auckland City Rail Link will stop immediately, as the country prepares to go into lockdown. CRL chief executive Sean Sweeney said the immediate priority is the safety of people and the security of the construction sites.
8.The Ministry of Social Development is moving its services to phone and online only with work and income offices shut as the country goes into lockdown. The Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni, says people who can use services online should do so, to free up phone lines for people who can’t.
9.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered people to stay in their homes to try to halt the spread of coronavirus. As deaths from the virus in Britain jumped by 54 to 335, the government said the military would help ship millions of items of personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks to healthcare workers who have complained of shortages.
10.In the United States, President Donald Trump is expressing frustration over America’s economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus and has suggested he might tell people to go back to work within the next few days.
11.Pizza chain Domino’s is offering a free pizza meal delivered once a week for New Zealanders over 70 during the coronavirus lockdown. Its “Meals For Seniors” initiative is in response to the Government’s request for Kiwis to remain at home to stop the spread of coronavirus.
12.A police officer has been disciplined for his unjustified actions in pepper-spraying a Balclutha man. The Independent Police Conduct Authority’s report into the 2017 incident was released today.
13.Drought conditions in many parts of the country are continuing even after some rain in Waikato and Northland over the past week. The entire North Island, parts of the South Island and the Chatham Islands are in drought.
