Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tests positive for Covid-19
She has been in isolation since Sunday, May 8, after her partner Clarke Gayford tested positive.
"The Prime Minister has been symptomatic since Friday evening, returning a weak positive last night and a clear positive this morning on a RAT test. At this stage her symptoms are moderate," the Prime Minister's Office said in a media release.
"As a result the Prime Minister will be required to isolate until the morning of Saturday 21 May. She will not be in Parliament this week for the release of the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan this coming Monday or for the Budget on Thursday. Travel arrangements for her trade mission to the United States are unaffected at this stage.
"The Prime Minister will undertake what duties she can remotely this week, but Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson will take the post-cabinet press conference on Monday 16 May."
Ardern said: “This is a milestone week for the Government and I’m gutted I can’t be there for it."
“Our emissions reduction plan set’s the path to achieve our carbon zero goal and the budget addresses the long-term future and security of New Zealand’s health system.
“But as I said earlier in the week isolating with Covid-19 is a very Kiwi experience this year and my family is no different."
The Prime Minister said in an Instagram post with a positive RAT that "despite best efforts, unfortunately I’ve joined the rest of my family and have tested positive for Covid-19".
"We’ve been isolating since Sunday when Clarke first tested positive. Neve tested positive on Wednesday and I returned a weak positive last night and a strong one this morning. There are so many important things happening for the Government this week - the release of our Emissions Reduction Plan on Monday and the Budget on Thursday. I’m gutted to miss being there in person, but will be staying in close touch with the team and sharing some reckons from here," she said.
"To anyone else out there, isolating or dealing with Covid, I hope you take good care of yourselves!"
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Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
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Denim, but make it one-of-a-kind 💙
Not every pair of jeans makes it to the rack... but that doesn’t mean their story ends there. Our talented volunteer Annie has been transforming damaged denim into handcrafted bags, hats and aprons in our Onehunga SPCA Op Shop ✂️🧵
This latest batch even features her own hand-sewn designs, and customers have been loving them, they sell almost as soon as they hit the shelf!
It’s creativity, sustainability and community all stitched together, helping animals in need 🐾
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