Canterbury Mornings

Strict visitor restrictions are in place in Canterbury Hospitals to protect staff and patients against Covid-19.Canterbury District Health Board CEO David Meates told Chris Lynch they've been planning for a long time to combat the spread of the virus.

Don't even think about driving to the beach or a park for some fresh air once the lockdown starts. That's the message from police commissioner Mike Bush, who told NewstalkZB host Chris Lynch that people should only go out in their cars to get essential supplies."What happens if somebody wants to go for a drive, say to a local beach or get out and about to a local park?" Lynch asked. "Are they in a position to drive there?""There's a short answer to that - no they're not," replied Bush. "You only go out in your vehicle if you need to go and get essential food supplies, essential medical supplies or medical treatment. Otherwise, please stay at home."Bush also discussed how police would enforce the restrictions, whether the army would be called in and how police would respond to a likely rise in domestic violence. Here's the full interview.A nationwide lockdown is in force as of midnight Wednesday. What does that mean for people at home?At the highest level, everyone apart from essential services needs to stay a

Christchurch’s homeless population won’t be left in the cold during the lockdown.At midnight tonight, our COVID-19 alert level will be raised to four - meaning self-isolation is mandatory.Christchurch City Missioner Matthew Mark told Chris Lynch both their men and women's shelters will stay open.He says they’ll follow self-isolation protocols inside and they’ll be running exercise and wellness programs to keep the cabin fever at bay.

Christchurch City Council Chief Executive, Dawn Baxendale, says essential services will still be available during the lockdown.Baxendale says buses will be running for essential service workers but they’ll now be free and their traffic light maintenance team will still be on the job.She says they’ll also keep monitoring their public phone line so locals can call in with any issues.

Some major Christchurch regeneration projects have had to hit the brakes ahead of tonight’s lockdown.The country will shut up shop for the next four weeks to prevent Covid-19 spreading through the community.Christchurch Regeneration Minister Megan Woods told Chris Lynch all non-essential businesses will stop operating – including construction.She says this means big projects like the Christchurch Convention Centre and the Metro Sports Facility will pause too.

Councils are focusing on maintaining essential services in the face of a Covid-19 lockdown.Most libraries, art galleries, swimming pools and sport and recreation centres are closed around the country.Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel told Chris Lynch services like water and transport are critical.Dalziel says Christchurch City Council has an isolated control room with only essential staff allowed in to ensure services continue.

Newstalk ZB contributor Mike Yardley told Chris Lynch he made the call to pull the pin on his travel plans for this week. He was due to be in Belgrade, Serbia today. He says it's breathtaking how just in the space of 7 days what many of us thought was inconceivable or unimaginable has become our reality. Listen above. 

Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration Megan Woods and MP for Ilam Gerry Brownlee joined Chris via phone to discuss the government's response to COVID-19 Listen above. 

Christchurch City Councillor Sam MacDonald is one of 6 councillors calling for a rate increase freeze to help residents and businesses cope with the impact of COVID-19. Listen above.

Infectious disease expert Professor David Murdoch told Chris Lynch the call to close the borders is the right thing to do and while it's very difficult to put a time frame on these things we are looking at months of major measure in place to stop the spread. Listen above. 

Community Covid-19 testing hubs are being set up in Christchurch.The South Island's now had its first confirmed case of the virus - a tourist who landed at Christchurch Airport before driving a rental car to Queenstown.Canterbury District Health Board CEO David Meates says they're setting up testing centres - with the first to start operating on Wednesday."We're really only want to have testing of those who have symptoms not necessarily the 'worried well'."LISTEN ABOVE  

Christchurch City Council is preemptively cancelling events - and looking at whether pools and libraries should stay open.The South Island's now had its first confirmed case of Covid-19 - a tourist who landed at Christchurch Airport before driving a rental car to Queenstown.Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel told Chris Lynch council staff are meeting today to discuss what action to take.She says even citizenship ceremonies are likely to be put on hold - to reduce unnecessary risk.The Prime Minister's expected to make an announcement on public gatherings this afternoon. 

Today's talkback centred around a the benefits of the Alcoholics Anonymous programme. Caller in to the show Bill who has been part of the AA programme for many years shared his inspiring story.Listen above. 

National leader Simon Bridges joined Chris Lynch on the show for their for regular fortnightly catch up. Listen above.

Infectious disease expert Professor David Murdoch joined Chris Lynch to explain what it actually means now that the World Health Organisation has declared that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic. Listen Above.

The White Matter Brain Cancer Trust is holding its major annual fundraiser this Saturday March 14th at The Welder in Christchurch. Trustee Philippa Worthington spoke with Chris Lynch about the amazing work the the trust does in providing support for people battling brain cancer. 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern joined Canterbury Mornings with Chris Lynch to discuss the Christchurch Call, last year's March 15th attacks, Christchurch infrastructure, the big issues which the government is focusing on for Christchurch residents and what is being to fix Christchurch Hospital's car parking crisis.LISTEN TO THE AUDIO ABOVE

Christchurch's Ravensdown is the target of a Greenpeace protest around capping the use of synthetic fertilisers this morning.At around 7am, Greenpeace activists poured 350 litres of home-made gunge on the fertiliser company's head office.Campaigner Gen Toop told Chris Lynch they've come down to give Ravensdown a taste of their own slimy medicine.She says Ravensdown is one of two big agricultural businesses selling the product that she says causes problems in the waterways.Toop says they'll be leaving the gunge for Ravensdown to clean up.LISTEN TO THE AUDIO ABOVE

Canterbury District Health, Public Health Specialist, Lucy Daeth joined Chris Lynch in studio to talk about looking after your mental wellbeing in the lead up to the March 15th terror attack anniversary. 

An expert says a Covid-19 outbreak in New Zealand isn't inevitable but it is likely.New Zealand's first confirmed patient, a person in their 60s, is improving in isolation at Auckland City Hospital.Health officials say the risk to the public remains low.But Otago University infectious diseases expert David Murdoch told Chris Lynch New Zealand is likely to have more cases."Just seeing how quickly it's been able to spread within China, and I think we are seeing it crop up with cases that apparently didn't have any obvious contact with China."He says that the global spread isn't surprising."It is what we anticipated. Now I think we're seeing it spreading to a quite a number of cases."I think it is tracking along the lines of what many of us anticipated."