https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news_crops/114465/eight_col_000_8WJ2QJ.jpg?1607278621 Unions are praising the government for rolling out a Covid-19 vaccine to all border staff ahead of schedule but say more work is needed before it can be distributed to the entire workforce. Barriers such as losing pay or finding transport difficult must be removed to encourage people to get vaccinated, the CTU says. (file pic) Photo: AFP On Friday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in New Zealand next week, earlier than expected. Over the next two to three weeks, 12,000 workers should be vaccinated, followed by their household contacts. Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the first batch would be enough to cover all border workers, with vaccinations starting next Saturday. Council of Trade Unions president Richard Wagstaff welcomed the announcement, but said more provisions needed to be in place to ensure workers are not disadvantaged during the ...

https://www.elanka.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/All-round.jpg Eddie Gray Source:Dailynews Edward Ian Gray, better known as Eddie Gray, who participated at the 1948 London Olympic Games began his sports career at the tender age of 10 years. He first participated at the Stubbs Shield Boxing Meet in 1930 while representing Royal College. Five years later he made a fine impact when he bagged the Colonel T. Y. Wright Cup awarded to the Most Scientific Boxer at the Stubbs Shield. He had the opportunity of participating at the National Boxing Championships in 1930 while still as a schoolboy while losing to Ganegoda in the quarter-finals. Eddie Gray was also the captain of the Royal College Athletics Team in 1936 and showed his prowess while competing in the one mile, ¼ mile and in the pole vault events. He also went on to captain the Royal College Rugby Team in 1937 and was later awarded school colours in ...

https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news_crops/110028/eight_col_068_AA_18092020_159264.jpg?1601088586 Victorian authorities are expecting an outbreak of the UK strain of coronavirus from a quarantine hotel to grow, as the state enters the first day of a snap lockdown called on Friday in a bid to dampen community transmission. Melbourne spent more than 100 days in hard lockdown last year. Photo: AFP Premier Daniel Andrews said the outbreak, which started with a family of three at Melbourne Airport’s Holiday Inn, was “moving at a velocity that has not been seen anywhere in our country over the course of these last 12 months”. The outbreak remained at 13 cases on Friday night, but health authorities believe there are more cases in the community yet to be detected, which is the rationale for plunging the state into five days of stage 4 restrictions in a bid to provide a “circuit-breaker”. The harsh restrictions which dominated Melbourne’s second-wave lockdown are now in ...

https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news_crops/114172/eight_col_48421172_l.jpg?1606859995 Auckland hotel operators are limping through summer with average bookings half that of last year, and showing little boost from the America’s Cup to the region’s high-end accommodation providers. (File image) Photo: 123RF Across the country, some hotels in pre-Covid-19 tourist meccas are sitting almost empty during the traditional peak season. The Hotel Data Programme, collated by Fresh Info, shows the average number of rooms booked in Auckland’s hotels fell by almost half to 45.8 percent in January, compared with more than 80 percent the same month last year – excluding managed isolation and quarantine hotels. In the heart of Auckland’s theatre disctrict, Airedale Boutique Suites would – in normal times – be bustling with summer guests. Sitting opposite the Town Hall, the hotel has had a $25 million refurbishment. But Scenic Group managing director Brendan Taylor said only a fifth of the rooms were booked. “We have quarantine ...

https://www.elanka.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/birthday.jpg The nonagenarian cutting the birthday cake to the strains of ‘happy birthday’. The oldest living All Ceylon cricketer Stanley Jayasinghe recently celebrated his 90th birthday at his Thalapathpitiya residence at a lavish birthday party attended by friends and fans. Despite his age, his memory is razor-sharp and he shared some of the unforgettable incidents of his life with those present at the gathering with great humour and banter. The grand old man of Sri Lanka’s cricket was hale and hearty and enjoyed the evening very much, entertaining his guests. He was fit as a fiddle and still drives his vehicle maneuvering Colombo’s busy streets with tremendous ease, though some of those who are much younger to him would find it a nightmare. The nonagenarian is a wildlife enthusiast and being an outdoor man, spent most of his time farming at Tanamalwila where he has a bungalow on a two ...

https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news_crops/114172/eight_col_48421172_l.jpg?1606859995 The government has collected $6.7 million in fees for managed isolation, while it’s owed at least another $1.5 million from returnees’ overdue payments. Chateau on the Park Hotel in Christchurch is one of the isolation facilities. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Six months after the fees scheme was introduced for the border hotels at least $23m worth of invoices have been sent out. Returnees have three months to pay the fees, which are issued ‘per room’. By the end of January, an MIQ spokesperson said 7273 invoices had been issued. Nearly 2000 of them – more than a quarter – had been paid, while 494 that were sent more than 90 days ago were overdue. The fees are $3100 for one person plus $950 for each additional adult and $475 for each additional child – less than half of the total cost of each returnee’s stay. New Zealanders can ...

https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news/232286/eight_col_200527_KATHMANDU_01a.jpg?1590814370 Outdoor goods retailer Kathmandu is reaping the rewards of its acquisition of Rip Curl, with total group sales for the six months ended January up 12 percent on last year. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Kathmandu acquired the surf and sports brand in 2019 for $368 million, and on a same-store basis adjusted for lockdown closures sales were up 21 percent. Group chief executive Xavier Simonet said despite Covid-19 disruption Rip Curl achieved substantial sales growth, with strong wholesale orders for the second half year. “Rip Curl’s record first half performance highlights the strength of its brand and quality technical products. Rip Curl’s direct to consumer business will now begin the Northern Hemisphere summer with strong momentum. “Forward orders for the Rip Curl wholesale business are above pre-Covid-19 levels, with encouraging early indications for future seasons.” He said Kathmandu also saw robust sales, due to a renewed ...

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2017-11/beehive-red-og_0.png New Zealand’s first batch of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is set to arrive in New Zealand next week subject to transportation plans and quality temperature control, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “We have been working behind the scenes to secure the timely arrival of vaccines for our border workers and their families and it’s great they will arrive well within our scheduled timeframes,” Jacinda Ardern said.    “Government representatives have been in conversations with Pfizer on a constant basis for the last few weeks. We appreciate the effort the company has gone to to deliver the first instalment earlier than originally anticipated.     “Last year we indicated the vaccine would arrive in quarter two, and earlier this year we updated that to quarter one. It’s pleasing to be receiving doses this early in quarter one. “The arrival of our first batch of doses is an important milestone in our fight against ...

https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news_crops/105392/eight_col_200710_MANAGED-ISOLATED-FACILITY-2.jpg?1594349027 More managed isolation vouchers will be released for April and May over the next few days. The Grand Millennium Hotel in Auckland is being used as a managed isolation facility. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook Managed isolation and quarantine officials stopped re-releasing people’s cancelled vouchers at the start of the month, as the Pullman Hotel was gradually emptied of returning travellers. The vouchers were kept for contingencies as authorities investigated Covid-19 transmission at the hotel. Now some new dates are being released in small batches to avoid a system overload. Five cases of the South African strain of Covid-19 were linked to the Pullman, after a Northland woman tested positive for the virus after leaving the facility. The most recent case was reported in Hamilton on 6 January, after another former Pullman guest tested positive a week after leaving the hotel. CCTV is being installed at the Pullman and ...