Geezwild - Latest Sport News, Australia News, New Zealand News and Pacific News

Work on determining whether community transmission of Covid-19 in New Zealand is still ongoing after 14 new cases of illness were confirmed today.
At a media conference in Wellington this afternoon, Ministry of Health Director-General Dr Ashley Bloomfield said five of the new cases were in Auckland, one in Northland, one in Canterbury, two in New Plymouth, two in Waikato, one in Tauranga, one in Coromandel and one in Dunedin. It brings the total number to 66.
They are all in self-isolation and their close contacts have also been identified and told to self-isolate.
Eleven have a history of international travel, while one is a close contact of a confirmed case.
Two were attendees at the World Hereford Conference in Queenstown from March 9-13 and the cases were being linked with international travel, and not due to community transmission.
Just over 1200 tests were carried out yesterday, bringing the total to 6000.
Yesterday, 13 new cases were confirmed, two of which could not be immediately linked with international travel. Dr Bloomfield said work was still ongoing to determine whether these should be classified as cases of community transmission.
"Our further investigations of these two cases have still not identified a firm link to overseas travel," he said.
"Just for clarity, community transmission is when we cannot confirm exactly where the infection came from.
"As we investigate these cases further, including close contact tracing, this increases our understanding of what the infection pathway might have been and we can then communicate with anyone who was a close or casual contact and ensure appropriate action is taken."
There were four probable cases, where tests had returned negative but officials believed they had Covid-19.
Also today, a staff member at a rest home and respite care facility, Ellerslie Gardens, in Auckland has tested positive for Covid-19.
The facility says the staff member had recently returned from overseas.
It says it is working with the Ministry of Health to find out which staff members and residents will need to be tested.
Two cruise ships - the Ruby Princess and Celebrity Solstice - had recently visited New Zealand and both had confirmed cases of Covid-19, Bloomfield said.
"We are asking any passengers on those two ships, who left the ships during their stay in New Zealand to self-isolate for 14 days since they last had contact with other ships' passengers and to be aware of symptoms and seek advice if they do develop symptoms."
Details of the movements of both ships could be found on the Ministry of Health's website.
Health officials were in direct contact with New Zealanders who were onboard the two vessels.
Yesterday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a new four-level alert system to combat Covid-19 and advised against any non-essential travel within New Zealand.
Dr Bloomfield said the country's response to the Covid-19 remained at level 2. It reflected the disease was contained, but that the threat of community transmission was growing.
At level 2, those aged over 70, those with chronic respiratory illnesses and people with compromised immunity, were asked to stay at home.
Dr Bloomfield said he had a message for these people: "We know many of you are fit and healthy and living active lives, but the older we are, the less our immune system is able to fight off this virus and indeed other viruses for infections and we have seen from overseas that older people are at more risk of serious complications.
"So we are strongly encouraging you, in fact urging you, to be aware of the need to stay at home and not to have contact with others."
These people should ask friends and family, and particularly children, not to visit.
Earlier today, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the government would move to the next two phases of the Covid-19 alert levels, if yesterday's two confirmed cases were proven to be the result of community transmission.
A level 3 alert status recognises a heightened risk that the disease is not contained and demands that authorities further restrict travel and public gatherings.
A host of public venues would face closures, including gyms, libraries, museums, food courts and pools.
Some non-essential businesses would face closure too.
Dr Bloomfield said Healthline was overloaded and he pleaded with people to use it properly. It was not there to give general advice, nor to offer information about self-isolation, he said.

Non-essential services will begin to close in New South Wales and Victoria over the next 48 hours, as Australia desperately attempts to slow the exponential growth of the deadly disease before tens of thousands die from it.
Supermarkets, petrol stations, pharmacies, convenience stores, freight and logistics, and home delivery will be among the many services that will remain open.
Schools in both states will also be open on Monday, but in Victoria school holidays will be brought forward to start on Tuesday.
Both Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) were planning to push for lockdowns at tonight's National Cabinet meeting, but NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews made clear that their states would be pursuing these more drastic measures.
Andrews said the step was necessary or "our hospitals will be overwhelmed, and more Victorians will die".
Berejiklian said she would "update NSW tomorrow morning about the impacts and our plans following the National Cabinet".
Neither statement gave examples of which services would be considered non-essential, but previous federal government advice pertaining to "non-essential indoor gatherings" included restaurants, pubs, cafes, cinemas, weddings and funerals.
NSW has moved past 500 confirmed cases of coronavirus, reaching 533 as of 8pm on Saturday, while the Victorian tally now sits at 296.
Andrews said "the decision whether to re-open schools after the Term 1 holidays will ... be determined following advice from the chief health officer".
Andrews's office said it would not be commenting or clarifying further until the National Cabinet meeting this evening.
Earlier on Sunday, both Western Australia and South Australia announced they were closing their borders as of Tuesday, requiring any travellers to go into self-isolation for two weeks. Tasmania and the Northern Territory already have such restrictions in place.

Coronavirus 'red zones' could face lockdown

Political leaders will also consider urgent and draconian powers allowing authorities to shut down so-called Covid-19 "red zones", meaning state police officers would prevent residents from travelling to less infected suburbs or areas.
At the National Cabinet meeting the prime minister, premiers and chief ministers will discuss how to best implement emergency restrictions like those adopted in parts of Europe and in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
"We had scheduled our next meeting to focus on the issue of further and stronger measures to deal with local outbreaks within state jurisdictions," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
"We are bringing forward consideration of those matters to a meeting this evening".
The dramatic national approach would likely be assisted by the federal departments of Health and Home Affairs, and was flagged earlier this month by Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter who warned the Commonwealth may need to use unprecedented quarantine laws to restrict the movement of people.
Over the weekend health authorities were dismayed by numerous examples of crowds ignoring guidelines on social distancing, instead cramming into popular locations such as Bondi Beach.
"What happened at Bondi Beach yesterday was not OK and served as a message to federal and state leaders that too many Australians are not taking these issues seriously enough," Morrison said.
"The measures that we will be considering tonight means that state premiers and chief ministers may have to take far more draconian measures to enforce social distancing."
The country's rate of new confirmed coronavirus cases is now growing at 20-25 percent a day, with some projections showing between one or two million Australians could be infected by the end of April.
If those numbers were reached, tens of thousands of people would be dead based on the mortality rate recorded by China earlier this year.

Government unveils $AU66b stimulus package

The government has unveiled a $AU66 billion ($NZ67m) economic stimulus package and urged people to cancel all non-essential travel in a bid to protect Australia in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Small businesses will receive cash payments up to $AU100,000 ($NZ101.5m) and some welfare recipients will receive another $AU750 ($NZ761).

Additional measures include:

• Temporarily doubling the Jobseeker Payment, previously called Newstart
• Allowing people to access $AU10,000 ($NZ10,150) from their superannuation in 2019-20 and 2020-21
• Guaranteeing unsecured small business loans up to $AU250,000 ($NZ253,700)
• Reducing deeming rates by a further 0.25 per cent

"We cannot prevent all the many hardships, many sacrifices that we will face in the months ahead," Morrison said.
"And while these hardships and sacrifices may break our hearts on occasion, we must not let them break our spirit and we must not let them break our resolves as Australians."
It builds on the measures included in the first $AU17.6 billion ($NZ17.86b) economic stimulus package announced more than a week ago.
Taking into account the first round of stimulus measures, and those announced by the Reserve Bank this week, the total economic assistance package is worth $AU189 billion ($NZ$191.8b), according to the government, equivalent to 9.7 percent of Australia's gross domestic product.
The Prime Minister will meet with Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese later today to discuss when the Parliament will sit during the next six months.
A reduced number of politicians will return to Parliament House on Monday to pass legislation required to implement the stimulus measures.

Cash for welfare recipients

The second $AU750 ($NZ761) payment will be automatically paid to an estimated five million people on July 13. The first $AU750 payment, announced in the first stimulus package, will be paid on March 31.
The government will temporarily double the Jobseeker Payment, previously called Newstart, providing people with an additional $AU550 ($NZ558) a fortnight.
The payment will be available to sole traders and casual workers, provided they meet income tests. The government will waive asset tests and waiting periods to access the Jobseeker Payment.
"The nature of these payments and the purpose of these payments are changing," the prime minister said.
"This is clearly saying that we expect this to go on for some time and we know that those vulnerable groups may need additional income support during those periods."

Support for small business

Not-for-profits and small businesses with a turnover under $AU50 million ($NZ50.74m) will receive a tax-free cash payment of up to $AU100,000 ($NZ101,500), with a minimum payment of $AU20,000 ($NZ20,300) for eligible companies.
The government expects 690,000 businesses employing 7.8 million people and 30,000 not-for-profits will be eligible for measures in the stimulus package.
The Commonwealth is also offering to guarantee unsecured loans of up to $AU250,000 ($NZ253,700) for up to three years.

Access to superannuation

The government will allow people to access up to $AU10,000 ($NZ10,148) from their superannuation this financial year and in 2020-21.
People will not pay tax on the money they access and withdrawals will not affect Centrelink or veterans' payments.
There will also be a temporary 50 percent reduction in superannuation minimum drawdown requirements for account-based pensions in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
- ABC

The temporary measure comes after photos were shared online showing mostly young beachgoers packed together -- drawing howls of protest in the media and from officials who have forbidden non-essential outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people.
The measures announced by the territory's chief minister, which begin on Tuesday, were aimed at addressing fears over the safety of remote indigenous communities who may be more vulnerable to an outbreak.
Australia's confirmed cases climbed to 1,068 on Saturday. Among them are 10 US tourists quarantined in South Australia.
The nation has taken a series of drastic steps to contain the spread of the contagion, including closing its borders to foreigners and non-residents.
At Bondi, people looked on at the desolate sands from the promenade after being told to leave the beach.
"I think it's about time we take our responsibility even though it's taking away something we value so much," Bondi local Leila Alem told AFP.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has so far stopped short of ordering people to stay home or the shutdown of non-essential businesses, as introduced in some parts of the world.

WADA's latest guidelines advise anti-doping organizations to make sure that sample collectors are free from any symptoms of illness.
Collectors should also ask athletes if they have any symptoms or if they or anyone at the collection site are in the groups thought to be at heightened risk from COVID-19.
If test collection personnel are found to have contracted the virus, athletes they tested should be informed and vice versa, WADA said.
Protective wear such as masks should be used and work surfaces disinfected, and if local conditions limit what testing can occur then ADOs should "consider focusing their testing program on targeted athletes from high risk sports and disciplines," WADA said.
In locations where testing programs can't continue, WADA said, it and other anti-doping organizations and sports federations will work together "once the situation begins to return to normal" to identify gaps in testing "particularly as it relates to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games."
WADA said anti-doping organizations should continue to obtain information on whereabouts of athletes normally gathered to facilitate out-of-competition testing.
Athletes are still responsible for obtaining therapeutic use exemptions and "should be reminded that they can still be tested at any place, any time," WADA said.
With some WADA accredited laboratories already closed and others likely to follow suit, WADA said testing organizations should contact the Montreal-based organization for information on what labs might be able to receive samples.
"While there are no plans to change existing requirements under the World Anti-Doping Program, WADA fully acknowledges the complexities of this unprecedented situation and will ensure its compliance monitoring program provides a level of flexibility and understanding based on the circumstances," WADA said.

"Of course we are considering different scenarios, but we are contrary to many other sports organizations or professional leagues in that we are four-and-a-half months away from the Games."
-- International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach on Friday.
"No solution will be ideal in this situation, and this is why we are counting on the responsibility and solidarity of the athletes."
-- IOC spokesman Wednesday
"Anything is possible at the moment."
-- World athletics chief Sebastian Coe when asked whether the Games could be postponed to September or October.
"Respectfully requested...that the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee advocate for the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 by one year to 2021."
-- USA Swimming chief executive Tim Hinchey
"It's (a postponement) not only best from a performance statement for the athletes, but also for what these athletes are going through right now in terms of their mental health."
-- Bob Bowman, the coach who guided swimming great Michael Phelps to 28 Olympic medals -- 23 of them gold.
"The IOC wants us to keep risking our health, our family's health and public health to train every day? You are putting us in danger right now, today, not in 4 months."
-- Hayley Wickenheiser, a Canadian IOC member and a four-time Olympic ice hockey gold medallist.
"We don't have to make a decision. Our games are not next week, or two weeks from now. They're four months from now. So we are affording the IOC the opportunity to gather information and expert advice."
-- United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) chairwoman Susanne Lyons.
"Starting to feel a little worried about how the Olympic Games are being treated in respect to the athletes. We keep being told the Olympic Games are happening. Starting to realize it's more important to have the games go on than the athletes be prepared or mentally healthy."
-- US world champion fencer Race Imboden on Twitter.
"It should be postponed under the current situation where athletes are not well prepared."
-- Japanese Olympic Committee executive board member Kaori Yamaguchi, a former Olympic judoka.