Morning Briefing March 8: Vaccine passports 'almost inevitable'

An international traveller - stock image.

As a new border-related case of Covid-19 is discovered in the community, attention turns to the future of international travel and the part "vaccine passports" will likely play in it.

Health authorities are dealing with a new border-related case of Covid-19 in the community, just hours after Auckland moved out of its latest Level 3 lockdown.

The new case is an Air New Zealand crew member who tested positive during routine testing yesterday. An Auckland supermarket is currently the only location of interest attached to the new case.

And while officials work to isolate and retest the crew member’s colleagues, attention is also turning to the overall future of international travel, with the Government dropping its strongest hint yet that “vaccine passports” will eventually be required.

Air New Zealand is already set to trial something like it next month with the introduction of the Travel Pass app .

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told TVNZ’s Q+A vaccine passports will be “almost an inevitability” within the next year. But he says vaccines will need to be available to everyone before a vaccine passport becomes a requirement for travellers.

Hipkins also addressed that vaccine rollout yesterday, saying it will depend on when various jabs arrive in the country.

He says not all vaccines are as effective with different population groups , which will “have an impact on the sequencing of the rollout”. 

Meanwhile, vaccination programmes continue to gather steam overseas.

Fiji has become the first Pacific country to receive Covid vaccines under the COVAX initiative, with 12,000 doses of the AstraZeneca jab arriving in Nadi .

Australian-made doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are also just weeks away from being available across the Tasman.

And further afield, Canada has just approved its fourth Covid vaccine , clearing the way for the Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose.

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Aucklanders flock to freedom

Yesterday was Auckland’s first day out of its latest Level 3 lockdown and it appears many of them celebrated by hitting the shops.

The NZ Herald reports the city’s malls experienced a busier Sunday than usual, with long queues reported in several locations

Meanwhile, the Opposition is calling for an inquiry into the Valentine’s Day cluster that led to Auckland’s two Level 3 lockdowns.

National’s Judith Collin says testing, contact tracing, health orders, and communications should all be investigated. She says New Zealand should “always be aiming to improve our response” to Covid-19. 

National’s comments come as Chris Hipkins says he’ll be reviewing the Government’s publicity and communications about the February outbreak.

He says the “close contact” and “casual-plus contact” categories will also be reviewed after some claimed they were confusing. 

Gender gap in home ownership

Home ownership among women is behind that of men, according to new CoreLogic data .

Properties owned solely by women make up 17.4 per cent of the market, while male-owned real estate makes up 19.2 per cent – a difference of 31,000 properties.

CoreLogic believes the gap in ownership reflects the gender pay gap, saying lower income means tougher access to the market.

Warning over website

New Zealand’s intelligence agencies are being urged to do a better job at blocking the 4chan website commonly used by extremists and white supremacists. A threat aimed at two Christchurch mosques was posted on the site last week.

Intelligence expert Paul Buchanan says while local internet service providers have banned 4chan and the related 8chan, it’s not enough to prevent extremists communicating with each other.

A key Muslim organisation has also urged the Government to smarten up intelligence services in the wake of last week’s online threat.

Islamic Women's Council of New Zealand national coordinator Aliya Danzeisen says her community is questioning how much investment has been made to ensure the country’s security services are both efficient and effective.

The Hauraki Gulf's troubled waters

While the battle for the America’s Cup is about to take place on Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, TVNZ’s Sunday has investigated the other big drama raging beneath its surface.

The once abundant and productive waters are now struggling, and a dispute has emerged between those who say the future of the Gulf is looking assured and those who believe the warning signs of impending environmental disaster can’t be ignored.

You can take a deep dive into that issue here .

Other news of note this morning:

- South Australia's on high alert after a "very strong" positive result for Covid-19 in wastewater .

- Kiwi Microsoft email users are being warned to act quickly after a mass “state-sponsored attack” on the company’s email exchange software.

- The US Senate has narrowly approved a $2.65 trillion Covid-19 relief bill , which President Joe Biden says is crucial for lifting the country out of the pandemic and economic doldrums. 

- A microbiologist who’s been investigating the source of Covid-19 in Wuhan says it's “extremely unlikely” the virus was leaked into the community via a lab.

- Stuff reports Jacinda Ardern’s decision not to reveal her position on cannabis during the election campaign could have been a “decisive factor” in last year’s referendum.

- The University of Otago is getting closer to forming a life-changing natural product that is hoped will help millions living with diabetes globally.

- The Black Caps have clinched a T20 series win over Australia, while the Silver Ferns have also defeated their trans-Tasman rivals to secure the Constellation Cup for the first time in nearly 10 years.

- And speaking of trans-Tasman competitions, the 10 Kiwi and Australian drag queens vying for RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under have been revealed . (TVNZ’s Breakfast is also chatting to the three Kiwi queens around 8.40am today.)

And finally...

In more queen-related news, Queen Elizabeth II has just given her annual Commonwealth message, hailing nations’ “courage, commitment and selfless dedication to duty” in the face of the pandemic.

But her rare televised message is about to be blown out of the water with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex finally spilling the details about their departure from Buckingham Palace in an interview with Oprah Winfrey later today.

Teasers from the interview have shown Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, describing how “liberating” it is to have a conversation with the TV host without any royal minders.

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