New Zealand has marked another day of no new Covid-19 cases as the country adjusts to life in level 2. Two people remain in hospital.
There are no new coronavirus cases in New Zealand, as clarity looms on what will be required to move to alert level 1. Get all the important news and read the full stories in the links below.
Key developments in NZ
• Tomorrow, Kiwis will get a better sense ofwhat needs to happen before New Zealand moves to alert level 1, after just 15 Covid-19 cases were reported in as many days, and no new cases were reported today. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will set out how Cabinet will make decisions to further lift restrictions ahead of their meeting on Monday. A critical piece of that decision is the confidence that there is no risk of community transmission, with every single case being linked to a source. Today marked 47 days since an infection could not be traced.
Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield speaks to media today. Photo / Getty Images
• The National Party has sunk to 30 per cent in the first public poll since the Covid-19 crisis took hold, while Labour has rocketed up to 56.5 per cent. As preferred Prime Minister, Ardern was at 59.5 per cent - up 20.8 points on the last poll and the highest any Prime Minister has scored in the Reid Research poll's history.
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• Air pollution in New Zealand's main centres plummeted by three-quarters during lockdown – showing how quickly smog can vanish, with benefits for our health and environment.
• Heading back to the office after isolation might feel like a welcome return to normality for some. But for the majority, the home office has become the new normal with the majority of New Zealanders enjoying the change, according to a Herald poll.
Business update
Stores are adjusting to level 2 restrictions. Photo / Dean Purcell
• Spending is up significantly as New Zealand has moved down alert levels - but not everyone is getting the benefit.
• The number of individuals and businesses struggling to pay their tax debt on time has skyrocketed this year. Figures from Inland Revenue show there were 104,443 payment instalment arrangements in March 2020 - up from 41,014 a year earlier.
• The taxpayer-funded Covid-19 wage subsidy programme has paid $101 million to meat companies, a sector allowed to keep working in lockdown and reporting record export sales.
Around the world
• US President Donald Trump has revealed he is taking hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug he repeatedly recommended to Americans that was later rubbished by experts. Trump said he had been taking the controversial medication for weeks, despite warnings from the FDA. Here are the facts on hydroxychloroquine.
• Sweden has recorded its deadliest month in 27 years after the Government refused to implement strict social distancing measures to control the spread of coronavirus. The country, which opted for a soft social distancing approach, released statistics indicating more people died in April than in any other month since 1993.
