Police officer has tested positive for Covid-19, and three others are self-isolating, after they came into contact with a member of the public with the virus.
All officers were fully vaccinated, but an investigation is underway about how much PPE they were using when they were exposed to the virus.
Superintendent Shanan Gray said police responded to reports of concern for the welfare of a woman on Tuesday afternoon. Four officers found the woman on Miro Road in Māngere Bridge. After speaking with her, they took her to Auckland Hospital for a mental health assessment, Gray said. Once at the hospital, the woman started showing Covid-like symptoms. She subsequently tested positive for the virus. Gray said the four officers were stood down on Tuesday. They are required to get tested and self-isolate for 14 days as a precaution. One of the officers tested positive during day one testing, with the other three testing negative. A fifth officer, who wasn’t involved in the incident but lives in the same place as one of the four officers, is also self-isolating as a precaution because they’re considered a close contact. Gray said the police station where the officer who tested positive is based has been deep cleaned, along with the patrol car involved.
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Christmas Eve busiest shopping day of the year with more than 500,000 sales
Busiest shopping day of the year
Peak time 12 noon-1 pm - 563,303 transactions
Per second peak - 167 transactions
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Number of sales beats Black Friday, but lowest Christmas Eve in six years
Christmas Eve has been the busiest shopping day of the year with 9,745 sales a minute at its peak.
Payments company Worldline says noon to 1pm saw 563,303 sales recorded on its network, down by about 7 percent on a year ago.
The company's network covers about three-quarters of the electronic terminals in operation.
Worldline did not have a dollar value for spending, but the peak number of transactions was the lowest for the past six years and well shy of the record 679,436 in 2019, before the pandemic.
Earlier this month it noted rising sales in the first three weeks of the month, but they remained 1.3 percent lower than 2024, with most parts of the country trailing the previous year's spending.
Official data from Stats NZ to the end of November showed a small rise in spending on the previous month, to 1.6 percent higher for the year.
Retail spending has been subdued as households have remained cautious because of high prices and a slow benefit from lower interest rates, and as well as concerns about the soft labour market.
However, recent surveys have shown improving consumer sentiment with ANZ bank's monthly report showing confidence at its highest level in four years.
Boxing Day is traditionally the country's favourite shopping day, but with Black Friday spending also softer this year the amount going through retailers' terminals may also be down on a year ago.
Adding a dampener to consumer spending may be the recent rises in longer term fixed mortgage rates because of higher wholesale rates.
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Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!
Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?
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79.1% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
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20.9% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
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