Covid-19 live updates, May 11: Cabinet meets to make alert level two decision

For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level three – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.

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5.10am: Decision day for alert level shift

Today cabinet will determine if and when New Zealand will move from alert level three to alert level two. For more on that decision, see Toby Manhire’s post here. Also new on the site, Duncan Greive has assessed the extraordinary communications effort by the Ardern government here. And a big welcome to The Spinoff’s new political editor, Justin Giovannetti, whose arrival on our team, and to New Zealand, has been, well, unorthodox.

5.05am: $183 million boost to family violence support services

The government has announced more than $183 million in extra funding for services supporting family violence and elder abuse victims. Jan Logie, under-secretary to the minister of justice, said the extra money in Budget 2020 will go to services by Māori for Māori, agencies supporting victims of elder abuse, and programmes for people who use violence and want to change their behaviour. A further $19.9 million will go toward making sure cases of non-fatal strangulation can be properly investigated, and victims have access to trauma support services.

“Refuges, helplines, crisis services and many other organisations sit at the heart of our response to families who are experiencing violence,” Logie said. “At a time of national crisis we have never needed them more. We know this crisis has increased pressure to New Zealand families and that more victims are isolated.”

The Budget initiatives announced today are:

• $183 million over the next four years for specialist family violence services. That includes:
  • $142 million for services supporting victims of family violence
  • $16 million for services to help perpetrators stop inflicting family violence
  • $25 million in support for victims of elder abuse
• $19.9 million to ensure victims of non-fatal strangulation can access trained medical trauma support practitioners and for forensic services necessary to gather the evidence needed to prosecute offenders.

5am: Yesterday’s key stories

There were two new cases of Covid-19 recorded in New Zealand, with one linked to the St Margaret’s cluster and the other linked to overseas travel.

Police confirmed they recorded 1051 breaches of the alert level three rules. Of those, 50 came between 6pm Friday and 6pm Saturday over the weekend.

Experts voiced concerns over the potential shift to alert level two. Te Pūnaha Matatini Professor Shaun Hendy and epidemiologist Michael Baker said it was too soon to rule out the possibility of undetected community transmission.

The government announced $160 million for Pharmac. The pre-Budget announcement by health minister David Clark said the money was for securing New Zealanders’ access to medicines.

Work & Income admitted it made a mistake denying an Auckland hotel worker a benefit because she’d received a redundancy payout. It now appears the agency has been getting it wrong for decades.

Read more in yesterday’s live updates here.

Source: thespinoff.co.nz — The Spinoff